Sex offender arrested for threatening Horace Mann School

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Police arrested a Horace Mann School graduate late Tuesday night for allegedly threatening to kill an administrator and burn the elite institution down.

Daniel Gruber, who has a previous record as a sex offender, was charged with two counts of aggravated harrassment in the second degree, according to a criminal complaint.

The document said Mr. Gruber, 36, called a Horace Mann official multiple times and left a message around 9:25 a.m. on April 8 saying, "Hi [name redacted]... I'm going to f---ing kill you. Leave the school or I'm going to f---ing burn it down."

Based on previous conversations with Mr. Gruber, the victim was able to identify the voice on the message. After receiving the threats, he experienced “annoyance, alarm, and fear for his physical safety," according to the complaint.

The voicemail was the latest in an alleged series of threats from Mr. Gruber. 

Horace Mann recently increased security to protect students and faculty from Mr. Gruber, according to a Sunday letter to parents from Head of School Thomas Kelly.

Mr. Gruber — a registered sex offender in New Jersey who was convicted in 2005 of endangering the welfare of a child  — was already on the Fieldston Property Owners' Association's radar.

In an April 4 letter, a private security firm that guards the exclusive neighborhood warned residents that Mr. Gruber was planning a protest somewhere in Fieldston. In the event, the protest never took place.

A directory of Horace Mann alumni lists a 1997 graduate by the name of Daniel Gruber living in Englewood, New Jersey.

The misdemeanor charges against him are punishable by up to one year in jail. Bail was set at $10,000, according to the Bronx District Attorney's press office. Mr. Gruber is scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on Wednesday, May 13.

Horace Mann School, death threats, aggravated harrassment, Daniel Gruber, sex offenders, Nic Cavell