LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — A Narrowsburg man is under arrest after threatening the Sullivan West Central School District.

Steven Kelly, 37, was arrested by Sullivan County sheriff’s deputies at approximately 6 a.m. on Friday, February 2, according to a statement by the sheriff’s office.

A February 7 statement by the school superintendent, Katheen Bressler, called the man who made the threat “a parent.”

Shortly before 8 p.m. the previous evening, the statement said, deputies learned that Kelly had expressed his dissatisfaction with the school district on social media. He allegedly made reference to a gun in his social media posts, and also allegedly made verbal statements at his place of employment about “shooting everyone.”

The sheriff’s statement said detectives worked on the investigation through the night with the district attorney’s office. Kelly was apprehended before school opened the next morning.

Officers recovered a BB gun from Kelly’s residence at the time of his arrest. Kelly denied having any firearms, and none were found, the sheriff’s office said.

‘A threat of mass harm’

Kelly was arraigned Friday afternoon before Town of Liberty Judge Troy Johnstone on a misdemeanor charge of Making a Threat of Mass Harm. He was released without bail.

The Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office filed an emergency order against Kelly that prohibits him from obtaining a firearm. An order of protection has also been issued prohibiting him from entering school grounds.

After Kelly’s arrest on Friday morning, extra deputy sheriffs were sent to Sullivan West to meet students and staff as they arrived.

Bressler said in her letter to parents that while law enforcement considered last week’s threat non-credible, “the content was concerning, and all threats are taken seriously. Since this incident, actions were taken out of an abundance of caution.”

The Sullivan County sheriff, Mike Schiff, said his office worked closely with the school district and the district attorney’s office to address the matter quickly.

“The investigation is complete, and it does not appear that there was any danger to the students or staff at Sullivan West,” he said.

But Schiff said his office and the school are both contending with a new problem – misinformation being spread about the incident on social media platforms.

“Superintendent Katheen Bressler made two proper and timely notifications to the parents and students of the school district last week,” said Schiff. “There is no basis for the current rumors and speculation that persist among social media users.”

He urged the community to monitor the Sullivan West Central School District web page (www.swcsd.org) for official information and to avoid postings about the incident posted on social media.