Report Of Student With Gun On

School Bus Was False Alarm

By Andrew Gorosko

Police were called to a school bus that was transporting students home from Reed Intermediate School on the afternoon of Thursday, June 1, when it was thought that a male Reed School student on that bus was in possession of a handgun.

It was soon learned, however, that the report was unfounded and that the boy had only a toy gun in his backpack on the bus, not an actual firearm, officials said.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said the incident amounted to a school matter, referring questions on the topic to school officials. Police did not press any charges against the student. Reed School educates students in Grades 5 and 6.

School Superintendent Evan Pitkoff declined to identify the boy who was in possession of the toy gun, citing school system confidentiality rules.

To explain the incident to parents, Reed School Principal Donna Denniston and Assistant Principal Tony Salvatore jointly wrote a letter that was sent to parents.

That letter stated, in part, “A student had a clear plastic ‘air-soft’ toy pistol in his backpack after attending a sleepover at a friend’s house on Wednesday night [May 31]. He brought it to school with the intent of bringing it back home. The toy pistol was empty and there were no plastic pellets that could have been used in this type of toy pistol. At no time during the day or on the bus were students in any danger. The student never intended to show or tell anyone, or to use it at any time in school or on the bus,” they wrote.

While on the bus on June 1, another student discovered the plastic pistol in the boy’s backpack and reported it to the school bus driver, after which the driver immediately stopped the bus, secured the backpack, and contacted police and school officials, the principal and vice principal added in the letter.

The police then secured the plastic pistol, took the student off the bus, transported him to the police station, and contacted his parent, the letter adds.

The situation was reviewed with the student and his parent and “appropriate disciplinary action” was taken by school officials, it adds.

“The student who put the plastic pistol in his backpack recognizes that he made a very bad choice and did not have any intent of harming anyone at any time,” Ms Denniston and Mr Salvatore wrote.

They urged that parents remind their children that such bad choices made by children carry consequences.