CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — A new initiative has been launched to combat school threats and potential violence in Ontario County. It’s called OCTAC, which stands for Ontario County Threat Assessment Committee. The initiative involves several key stakeholders in the community.

Sheriff David Cirencione says there’s no reason to panic. But, since the start of school, deputies have already investigated five instances of threats. These mostly involve conflicts between students, where violence is mentioned.

The goal is to send a message, that threats of any kind will not be tolerated.

The press conference held Wednesday is the result of months of planning, with conversations happening ever since the Buffalo Tops shooting in 2022, and even beforehand.

OCTAC brings together people from law enforcement, school resource officers, school staff, people from the DA’s office, public defender, local county office buildings, and nonprofits.

So far, 150 people have been trained in threat assessment, and the focus isn’t just on schools.

“Since we began to hold these trainings with county stakeholders and business professionals, some of these threat assessments came from adults,” said Cirencione. “These were just as legitimate, all of which led to some action being taken by our committees to mitigate these threats.”

“The ripple effect this will have, will be far beyond the walls of our schools,” said Christopher Bernard, superintendent for Manchester-Shortsville Central School District. “We are already contributing to the wellbeing of Ontario County. This will help make our region one of the best places to live, work and raise a family.”

Community members can download the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office mobile app to find a form to make a report.

You may recall the threat assessment group in Monroe County, ROCTAC, which has been around since 2018. It even served as a model for Erie County’s program following the Buffalo Tops mass shooting.

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