This article was updated at 12 p.m. on Aug. 9.
Rye police arrested a 15-year-old resident Friday for calling the local YMCA from his cell phone and threatening to “shoot everyone.”
The teen, whose name has not been released, was charged Friday morning with making a threat of mass harm, a class B misdemeanor, according to police.
Since the defendant is a minor, the case is being transferred to Westchester County Family Court in White Plains.
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, police were notified of the threat at roughly 4:30 p.m. and quickly evacuated both downtown Rye YMCA locations — the main building, located at 21 Locust Ave., and the Y Studios at 1031 Boston Post Road.
Police Lt. Michael Anfuso said the department’s detectives conducted a brief investigation before quickly identifying the suspect. Detectives spoke with the suspect and determined that the threat was not credible.
Anfuso told The Record the call was made from the individual’s cell phone. The teen did not tell detectives why he made the threat, Anfuso said.
The YMCA issued a notice on their website Wednesday evening informing members.
“This afternoon, we received an anonymous phone call threatening our YMCA,” the notice states. “We immediately notified the authorities and began following our safety procedures at the Rye YMCA and the Y Studios. All locations then closed.”
Both facilities resumed normal operations Thursday morning.
The YMCA said in an additional statement Thursday that it would use the incident as an opportunity to review its safety protocols.