Dr. Gary Peiffer - Carlynton School District

April 28, 2015
Dear parents, community members, and friends of the Carlynton School District,
I want to update you on an incident that occurred last Friday after school hours. An email was
received Friday afternoon that was purportedly sent by a student. The email involved an unspecified
threat to the school. The Crafton police, in conjunction with the FBI, have been investigating the
email. Through their investigation they determined that the threat was not legitimate and that the
student was not the sender. Mr. Loughren spoke with the officers on Friday night and I spoke with
Chief Sumpter yesterday morning. At no time were any of our students or buildings in danger.
However, because the email was also sent to WPXI news, a reporter was sent to the district today for
questioning.
The practice of emailing an entity as someone else or hacking another's email is called "catfishing"
or "swatting." This is the first incident in our district. Since I have been an administrator, dating back
to 1997, this is the first time I have dealt with this type of issue. It is a relatively new phenomenon.
WPXI is covering this story and it will probably air tonight. They also spoke with Chief Sumpter. I
appreciate the proactive and forthright action the Crafton police have taken in this matter and value
the relationship the school district has with them and all of our local police departments.
Again, the student under whose name the email was sent did not create nor send the message and at
no time was the school actually threatened. The police, in conjunction with the FBI, continue to
investigate and have been proactive in keeping us in the loop. Should there have been an actual
threat requiring a closure or evacuation, we would have done so. However, in this case, there wasn't
and we didn't.
I appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to partner with parents and community
members to make Carlynton a safe and secure learning environment where students have an
opportunity to grow and develop as young men and women.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gary Peiffer
Dr. Gary Peiffer
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Carlynton School District | 435 Kings Highway | Carnegie, PA 15106
412-429-2500