Brooklyn Teacher Arraigned After Allegedly Making Threat Against School

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A Brooklyn high school teacher was held on $100,000 bail Saturday on felony charges of making a terrorist threat, after remarks she made to colleagues earlier this week.

Fort Hamilton art teacher Sabrina Milo, 34, was arraigned Saturday in Brooklyn criminal court, a day after she was arrested.

Prosecutors say that at lunchtime on Tuesday, three other teachers witnessed Milo crying in the teachers' lounge. She allegedly said she was going to "bring a machine gun under a trench coat and it would be Columbine all over again," referring to the 1999 high school attack in Colorado.

Prosecutors said they did not know why Milo was upset. Her lawyer, Andre Stoll, is asking that his client get a psychiatric evaluation.

Milo was ordered to stay away from the school and to turn over any firearms in her possession, of which her attorney said she had none.

"We are convinced [the case] is going to be dismissed in the grand jury," said Stoll.

Milo's students tell NY1 that she's a well-liked teacher who's known to joke around.

"She is really funny. She talks with us about football. Let's say I make a good play, she'll say, 'Nah, that wasn't great at all.' She'll make fun of us about that," said Fort Hamilton junior Tyrone Raymond. "I don't believe it. I don't believe she would say something like that. She's not somebody to say something like that."

"I really think Ms. Milo is a cool teacher," another student said. "She's very nice and she likes playing jokes, you know? She didn't mean to offend us and the school."

The Department of Education says Milo worked at the school from 2001 until last May, when she was reassigned, but she returned to the school for the fall.

Milo's husband is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who runs the junior ROTC program at the school.

Both teachers and students said they feel safe at Fort Hamilton High, but told NY1 on Saturday they understood why school officials and police took the incident seriously.

"You can't joke around like that anymore. It's very important," said science teacher Prema Dwyer.

"I am personally not worried because this is a pretty safe school. We have a lot of security around. The kids are all nice here, the teachers are all nice here," said student Russell Hartman.

Milo faces disciplinary action pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

There's been no comment yet from the United Federation of Teachers.