SALISBURY — While still answering questions regarding Tuesday's incident of a Triton middle-schooler allegedly bringing a firearm to school, Superintendent Sandra Halloran announced yesterday that a fifth-grader was removed from Salisbury Elementary School for bringing a BB gun to school.
"The timing of this elementary school event is very unfortunate, and I don't want to minimize the incident, but I want to allay people's fears that while these are both serious issues, they are two very different situations," Halloran said. "We take the safety of our students and the entire school community very seriously and urge parents to take this opportunity to discuss with their children the importance of following school safety rules."
Around 11 a.m. yesterday, Salisbury Elementary School Principal Jim Montanari was informed that a fifth-grader had a BB gun in his backpack. According to Halloran, Montanari immediately went to the student's classroom, removed the gun from his backpack and escorted the student to the main office. The Salisbury police were called in, and the student's parents were called to pick him up. Halloran said appropriate disciplinary actions were taken but did not say what those actions were.
"The staff at the school, working in conjunction with the Police Department, determined there was no further threat to safety at the school," Halloran said.
Classes continued on their regular schedule, and no further steps were taken at the school.
On Tuesday at Triton Regional Middle School, a student was apprehended by Newbury police after a student noticed he was carrying an undisclosed firearm. Yesterday, the student, identified as a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Salisbury, was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of a firearm on school grounds.
The Newbury police investigation was still looking to determine where the firearm came from. If it's determined the gun came from the student's home, police in Salisbury said the student's parents could face charges.
Halloran said that while the middle school incident is now a police matter, the school would be investigating any part that bullying may have had in the situation.
"While nothing was ever reported, there has been some indication that the student was being teased on the bus but not in the school itself," Halloran said. "We and the police are looking into this, and should we discover that bullying did occur, we will address it accordingly."
Yesterday, middle school Principal Jared Fulgoni held two separate assemblies, one for middle school students and one for high school students.
"They confirmed the rumors we heard about a seventh-grader having a gun in school," said seventh-grader Jack Killion, who noted that the meeting was brief and no students asked questions when invited to do so.
"They said we'd be safe in school and that the kid who reported the student who had the gun was a hero," said seventh-grader Corey Parsons.
For the approximately 470 students at the middle school, this incident will mean that this year they will be included in the activities of student awareness week in March, an event that usually includes the high school students.
During this week, issues such as sexting, bullying, discrimination for disability or ability, and other forms of harassment will be presented and discussed with all students.
Halloran noted that the district has a comprehensive policy against harassment and is known as one of the best schools in the area for having safety protocols in place. The schools will continue to hold assemblies and classroom discussions to reinforce student behavior expectations and school safety rules.
The administration and school staff will speak further with parents about this incident at a meeting for parents of middle- and high-schoolers this evening at 7 in the high school auditorium.
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