EXETER, N.H. (WHDH) - Exeter High School was briefly placed in “safe campus mode” on Friday after a suspicious person was seen wearing a trench coat and what appeared to be a gas mask near the athletic stadium behind the school.

Superintendent David Ryan says the safe campus mode secured the building and grounds.

The suspicious person was spotted by two school bus drivers around 9:30 a.m., prompting threat procedures to be activated. The school resource officer responded to the area to investigate.

An investigation determined the individual was a student at a nearby charter school who rode the bus to Exeter High School before taking a shuttle to their school.

All charter school students have the right to ride SAU 16 buses.

The student was located and apprehended for questioning.

“We do not have a firm grasp on the student’s intent to behave this way, but we can state that the result of his antics led to the high school activating a secure campus for approximately 20 minutes until he was apprehended and identified,” Ryan said in a statement.
SAU 16 has offered its Behavior Intervention Team services to the charter school to help address the student’s behavior.
Ryan wishes to commend administrators at EHS, especially Principal Michael Monahan and Security Coordinator Richard Kane and Exeter Police Department School Resource Officer Sonya Robichaud for following the SAU’s established protocols and policies in the event of a dangerous situation.

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