PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday's threat incident was Superintendent Joseph Curtis' "absolute worst nightmare."

That morning, a social media threat put Taconic and Pittsfield high schools into "hold-in-passing" procedures. It was lifted a couple of hours later when the Pittsfield Police Department confirmed that the post depicted an Orbeez gel blaster gun and there was no threat to the school community.

"The incident that happened today is a superintendent's and I'm sure everyone else in the room and everyone's absolute worst nightmare," he told the School Committee that night.

"There is no minimizing it. There is no saying we'll deal with that later."

PHS freshman Ronan Conway said while the weapon was identified as an Orbeez, or water bead, gun, that was not known at the time when the threat was made.

"My mother, my siblings, and my father were deeply, deeply disturbed by this news and I'm overwhelmingly upset that they were not informed earlier and that there was not even a delay," he said.

"I completely get not dismissing the school day and I completely support that but maybe a two-hour delay or perhaps even sending out an email to the parents the morning of or the night of to let the parents make that decision for themselves if they want to risk their child's life."

Conway said it was scary and overwhelming going to school and not knowing what was happening, something that his classmates felt, too. He said putting people's lives in danger for attendance is "unacceptable," which Curtis later countered.

"It's scarring, really, to have this hit home," he said.