Student accused of making threats against Cheney Tech in Manchester was armed with a knife, state police say

There is a stepped-up police presence at Cheney Tech in Manchester Thursday after a student accused of making threats against the school was found to be armed with a knife, state police said.

The student was taken off a school bus on its way to Howell Cheney Technical High School, 791 West Middle Turnpike, and transported to an area hospital, they said.

No one was injured, and police said there is no threat to the public. The police presence Thursday is out of an “abundance of caution,” they said.

Police were first alerted to a problem shortly after 6:45 a.m., when troopers from the Troop H barracks in Hartford learned from a family member that a Cheney Tech student was “in emotional crisis and had allegedly made threats to the school,” Trooper Sarah Salerno said. The student was on a bus headed to the school at the time.

Troopers and Manchester police officers intercepted the school bus and found and detained the student. Police recovered the knife, she said.

The investigation of the incident is in its early stages, Salerno said, and more information will be released when it is available.

The school, which is part of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, offers programs in automotive, engineering and information systems technologies as well as in culinary arts..

It also teaches the trades including heating, ventilation and air conditioning; electrical; carpentry and metal fabrication, among others, according to its website.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.