NY District Fires Teacher Who Was a ‘Time Bomb’

He had made several suicidal and homicidal comments, and had acquired three guns.

BEDFORD, N.Y. – School district officials in Bedford fired a high school English teacher in May after an eight-day disciplinary hearing determined he was “a time bomb waiting to explode.”

Fox Lane High School teacher Adam Heller, 35, was initially reported to the FBI by a person he was communicating with online about the Newtown, Conn., massacre. Heller claimed the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a conspiracy by the military and U.S. government, Lohud.com reports.

He made several suicidal and homicidal comments online, and said he wanted to stockpile weapons. He had purchased three guns and wanted to acquire a fourth.

Heller also expressed concerns that his mind was being controlled, reports the Bedford Daily Voice. A psychiatric evaluation determined he wasn’t fit to work.

He is now suing the district, claiming he was wrongfully terminated. His lawyer says he didn’t pose a risk and was just exercising his First Amendment rights.

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About the Author

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Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.

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