A high school football game in Groton was postponed a day out of safety concerns stemming from threatening social media posts.
The game between Norwich Free Academy and Fitch High School, originally scheduled for Thursday night, was moved to Friday at 4 p.m. with additional security measures that will only allow students of the two schools and a designated number of family members to attend, according to the Town of Groton Police Department and Groton Public Schools. Each attendee must have identification.
According to Groton Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro, police around 1:45 p.m. on Thursday were contacted by security staff at Norwich Free Academy about concerns surrounding the game that was scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. At that time, Fusaro said additional staffing was assigned to the game.
Later in the afternoon, Fusaro continued, “additional safety concerns arising from social media posts” led to school officials from both towns in collaboration with police deciding to postpone the game a day.
“This precautionary measure was taken out of an abundance of caution in order to allow officials time to institute control measure and safety protocols prior to holding the game,” Fusaro said in a statement. “It is important to note that students brought these concerns to the attention of the Fitch High School Resource Officer.”
Fusaro said the concerning social media posts did not appear to have been made by anyone associated with Fitch High School or the game.
“We encourage students, parents, and citizens who are made aware of concerning posts and potential threats they view on social media to immediately bring them to attention of public safety and/or school officials,” Fusaro said. “This simple act can help identify bad actors and help deter and prevent disruption of events. We applaud these students for having the courage and concern to connect with their SRO to help prevent potential problems at yesterday’s game.”
According to Fitch High School Principal Matthew Z. Brown, each player involved in the game will be allowed to have four family members in attendance. Attendees must purchase a ticket and have identification to be allowed into the game. Anyone not listed as a player’s guest will not be allowed in, Brown said.
Students of both schools will be allowed into the game and will be verified through their school ID, according to Brown. Only current students are allowed to attend. They do not need to be invited by a player.
Brown said students will be checked in by school administrators at their designated gate. Fitch students should check in at the upper gate, while Norwich students should use the lower gate.
Tickets for the game will be available on gofan.co. Tickets already purchased for Thursday will be valid.
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