Orangetown police are investigating after a high school student made threats toward other students.

An eighth-grader at Pearl River High School told classmates he wanted to kill them.

School officials would not confirm exactly what happened but say the incident occurred earlier this week.

An email was sent to parents saying the school takes threats of violence very seriously.

Marco Pochintesta, superintendent of schools, said, “Student safety is our first and highest priority. I can confirm that there has been an incident where a student made threats against students at the high school. As soon as we learned of this, we took immediate action. The police are investigating and this is a very serious matter.”

The school says the student was suspended for five days.