Heightened security after threat at Cherry Hill school

Security will be noticeably tighter at Cherry Hill High School East after authorities arrested a teen they said threatened the school via text message.

Cherry Hill Police in a message on the department Facebook page said they investigated the threat on Sunday when it was passed along via social media, and charged a teen with one count of making a false alarm. The identity of the teen and the nature of the threat were not disclosed by police.

"We are grateful for those in the community who contacted us to report the messages. Your assistance allowed the Cherry Hill Police Department to aggressively investigate the matter and quickly bring it to closure," Cherry Hill Police said.

In a letter posted on the district website, superintendent Joseph Meloche wrote that he urges "everyone to be very cautious and to be thoughtful prior to posting anything on social media. The ramifications of our words, written and spoken, are long reaching." Meloche also praised the swift and thorough of police to the threat.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the threat to contact Cherry Hill Police at 856-488-7828.