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Police charge students for Cosby High threats

Posted at 12:33 PM, May 01, 2014
and last updated 2014-05-01 18:24:02-04

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- Chesterfield police charged two students for two incidents that happened Thursday at Cosby High School.

"At about 8:38 a.m., the school resource officer was alerted to a potentially threatening message that had been written on a wall. A 16-year-old male was charged with vandalism and disorderly conduct in relation to writing the message," Chesterfield Police wrote in an email.

Additionally, police were notified around 10:45 a.m about a note written by a student that contained a threat to bomb the school.

David N. Maione, 18, was charged with threatening to bomb or damage a public building — a Class 5 felony — in relation to writing the note."

The following message was sent to home to parents from Cosby High School Principal Brenda Mayo in the wake of Thursday's events:

"I’m calling/writing to thank parents for working with the Cosby High staff today. For the most part, teachers and students were focused today on preparing for state SOLs and other end-of-the-year work.

I’m also calling/writing to request your assistance. In a time of heightened sensitivity, comments made in jest are being taken seriously by local law enforcement and school administrators. Two students learned that today and face legal consequences for pranks that occurred and/or comments made during the school day. These disruptions will not be tolerated, and these students now face serious legal consequences and school disciplinary measures."

Some parents decided to pick their children up early from Cosby High School in Chesterfield Thursday morning after a new "Justice for Cal" message was discovered in a school bathroom.

The message read "Justice for Cal starts at 12:30."

Justice for Cal new

Police increased their presence around the high school, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The school was not placed on lock down, according to Chesterfield Schools spokesman Shawn Smith.

Concern over the "Justice for Cal" message began spreading through the Cosby community over the weekend when the message “Justice for Cal starts 5/1/14" first appeared near a Hampton Park tunnel where former Cosby student Cal Reilly killed himself last year.

Cosby Concern Collage

Some people who saw the message near the tunnel viewed it as a threat. A woman who claimed she wrote the original message said that was not the case.

“My message was 'Justice For Cal,' which is taking something that was wrong and setting it right," the woman who wished to remain anonymous told CBS 6 reporter Melissa Hipolit“It’s not about hurting people or bombs or guns or people being afraid to go to school.”

She said it was part of a marketing plan to sell shirts that raised money for suicide prevention.