An anonymous call that alerted high school officials to a rumor of threatened violence at the Friday night Marauders-Raiders football game to be held at Dedham High School with the Marauders hosting and Dover-Sherborn High School (DSHS) visiting, resulted in school district leaders postponing the September 6th game. At the same time, school officials assured the school community that there was no reason to believe the threat was credible.
In a post to X on late Friday afternoon, DSHS Athletics shared a message signed by Dover- Sherborn School District Superintendent Beth McCoy, DSHS Principal John Smith and DSHS Assistant Principal Tim O’Mara. The administrators explained that a decision to cancel the game was made jointly with Dedham Public Schools, with safety as the top priority.
“The situation has reduced the number of players available for this evening’s contest which increases the risk of physical injury to those remaining. Additionally, from an emotional perspective, we believe athletes will not be in a space to focus on strategy and enjoy the game they love. While we do not wish to exist in a society where fear and threats of violence govern our decisions, the safety of our students must come first,” jointly stated the Dover-Sherborn district leaders.
According to Dedham Police, earlier on game day, an anonymous person called Dedham High School to report a rumor that a student was going to “shoot up the football game today.” High school officials immediately contacted Dedham Police.
Initially following the threat, Dedham Public Schools and Dedham Police jointly announced on September 6th that the varsity football game would go on. In the letter from Dedham Public Schools Superintendent Nan Murphy and Dedham Chief of Police Mike D’Entrement to the Dedham School Community, the two noted that “we have no reason to believe there is an immediate threat.” The letter continued with the information that the football game would be held with increased police presence, limited entry points, and a prohibition on any bags or containers in the field area or stands, along with the warning for those in attendance to remain vigilant.
It was later in the day that the school district, jointly with DS Public Schools, decided to cancel the game, and reschedule at a later date.
DSHS Athletics also announced on Friday that the Raiders' junior varsity football game would also be cancelled. That game was to be played in the early afternoon on Saturday.
The rumor of threats of violence at the Marauders-Raiders football game came as students had just started a new school year, and two days after a school shooting in Georgia. On Wednesday, September 4th, a 14 year-old boy killed two students and two teachers at a high school in Georgia in the latest mass shooting incident at a U.S. school.
CNN reports that following the Georgia shooting, there have been at least 45 school shootings in the U.S. this year.
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