Heightened Security In New Jersey High School's Bathrooms Following Written Threats

PASSAIC, N.J. (CBSNewYork) --  It's not the usual business going on in Passaic High School bathrooms, students say. Multiple threats have been written on bathroom walls and left behind on notebook paper in stalls.

The threats have resulted in repeated ordeals of cops storming in, while students and staff run out, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported. Four hoaxes in a single month have brought drastic changes.

"It kind of feels like a prison in there!" student Luis Gonzalez told CBS2.

Students are being watched, especially going in and out of the bathrooms. They now need teacher permission every single time and the doors are guarded.

"They check the bathroom to see if we scribbled anything," student Jean Carlo Tapia said.

Several school bathrooms are locked up and off-limits, making the open ones busier.

"Just for the bathroom, I have to go to the main building on the other side just to use it. It's crazy," student Brittany Ortiz said. "I got in trouble actually when I got back to homeroom because I took so long."

A handful of students began this school week with a protest walk-out. Two more bathrooms were opened up for use the following day, according to students.

A spokesman for Passaic schools said 11 of the 16 bathroom are open. However, the policies of getting permission and the doors being monitored won't be changing anytime soon.

The new bathroom policy is just part of the school's plan to try and stop the threats, with random locker searches coming soon.

"I think it's a good idea, safety of the kids. It's going to help them," parent George Cedeno said.

Cedeno echoes the position of the school district when he says the rules might be a pain, but students will get used to them.

One student was arrested in connection with one of the four recent threats at the school.