McCann Tech Deems Social Media Threat 'Not Credible' After Police Investigation

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical School officials confirmed Thursday that a threatening social media post directed at the school was found to be a illagitaemt following an investigation by the North Adams Police Department (NAPD).

School administrators notified families that the NAPD determined the social media account responsible for the post was not legitimate and there is no credible threat to the campus.

"The post did contain threatening content to McCann Tech, but after investigation by NAPD it was found that the threat was NOT credible and that the social media account was NOT legitimate," the school stated in a message to the community.

While authorities have concluded that students and staff are not in any danger, McCann officials requested an increased police presence at the school on Thursday morning. The school emphasized that this measure is being taken out of an "extreme abundance of caution" to help students and families feel comfortable starting the day.

Following the internal notification from McCann, North Adams Public Schools (NAPS) issued an "all-call" to its own district families Thursday morning.

"North Adams Public Schools will continue to operate using its standard safety procedures," the NAPS statement read, echoing the police department's conclusion that there is no active threat to local students.

McCann is part of the Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational Technical School District, not NAPS.

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

 

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

 

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

 

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

 

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

 

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

 

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."