‘No Evidence’ Alleged Slashing Occurred, Official Says

A day into an investigation of a reported knife assault on a village high school student Wednesday morning, Ridgewood officials said there was never any threat.

“At this point, there is no evidence to confirm that the alleged crime was actually committed,” Mayor Paul Aronsohn said in a statement Thursday night. “The investigation is still ongoing.”

Police Chief John Ward said no arrests were made for the assault reported by the student, and the department on Thursday cancelled a previous public safety alert it had issued in search of a suspect.

“We did a lot of work and we were able to find that there was no threat and there is no threat to the children,” Ward said.

Citing the ongoing investigation, the chief declined to elaborate on the details of the case, but said the department wanted to calm the nerves of an understandably alarmed public.

“We’re still investigating portions of this case, and we really can’t comment on the situation right now,” he said. “But we wanted the public to be aware that there’s not a threat from this incident, so that parents could breathe a little easier.”

Police had been seeking a suspect Wednesday afternoon after a Ridgewood High School student walking off campus during his lunch break that morning told authorities a man attempted to rob him. The juvenile told police an assailant pulled him to the ground and slashed him with a knife.

Ward said though there had not been a threat from Wednesday's report, police would continue the additional patrols around school buildings begun after two attempted luring incidents in the last month.