Three fourth-grade students at a New York elementary school plotted to kill their teacher using hand sanitizer, according to police.

The three 9-year-olds, who attended school in Elba between the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, bragged to fellow students shortly before the winter break in December that they would kill their teacher by putting antibacterial products around the classroom, according to a WGRZ.com report.

The teacher was reportedly very allergic to antibacterial products. A school board member contacted the authorities after catching wind of the plan from other parents and her son.

Youth officers conducted interviews of the children in question with parents and school officials present, and one student indicated that the teacher yelled at them often and the class did not like her. Another student put the blame on a different student for coming up with the plan.

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Department incident report indicated that the students gave stories to youth officers that contradicted what they said the say before. The school opted to handle the case on its own, meaning the police won’t be involved in the case.

The report doesn’t indicate a motive for the alleged plot, although the report suggested there was bullying in the classroom and that class had trouble working together.

The superintendent of the school released a statement saying that the incident was a “shock to our community and school,” and that the school would not comment on the specifics of the event, claiming rights to do so under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It also criticized the media for not accurately reporting the incident.

The statement further claimed that the sheriff’s department determined no crime had been committed and turned the matter back over to the school district.