STATEMENT ON A MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST

Since the afternoon of March 29, 2023, and continuing throughout today, March 31, 2023, the Fairfield Police Department has been involved in an ongoing investigation of an online social media post that has raised concerns from many people throughout the area, especially given the recent incident in Nashville Tennessee. The Fairfield Police Department, and its local, county state and federal law enforcement partners take extremely seriously, any communication that raises this much public concern or which expresses or implies the threat of violence.

While this investigation is still active and the department is limited as to what information it can release, I feel it is the public interest to correct some misconceptions that have been spreading throughout the area on social media and beyond.

• In this case, there were two separate and distinct social media posts. The first of these had a list of over 600 names on it but had no threat contained in it and the department believes it has identified the individual who was the source of this post. The source of a second post, that did contain a threat of violence and that referenced the first post, has not yet been identified. We continue to work at making this identification.  

• Neither of the social media posts in question nor the subsequent police investigation thus far has revealed anything that mentioned a threat against any school, whether it be expressed or implied.

• The police department has interviewed several individuals relating to this matter, and it continues to use all means available to expeditiously investigate this incident. As of this time, the department’s investigation has not yetdeveloped sufficient evidence or probable cause to believe any individual(s) has committed any crime.

The Fairfield Police Department will continue to investigate this matter to its fullest and will continue to do the utmost to assure public safety. We will attempt to provide additional updates as is warranted without compromising our investigation. All updates will be posted on our website and social media platforms.

If anyone has any questions or information relating to this investigation, please contact the Fairfield Police Department Investigative Section at detectives@fairfieldnj.org. It should be noted that this email address is not monitored on a 24 hour basis. If you have an emergency, please dial 9-1-1.

Sincerely,

Anthony G. Manna

Chief of Police