On Thursday, Watervliet Police Department (WPD) was made aware of safety concerns when a student at Watervliet High School (WHS) told a school administrator that another student had a BB gun in their backpack. Police say through further investigation it was determined a WHS student had brought a BB gun onto school grounds.
WATERVLIET, N.Y. (NEWS10) - On Thursday, Watervliet Police Department (WPD) was made aware of safety concerns when a student at Watervliet High School (WHS) told a school administrator that another student had a BB gun in their backpack. Police say through further investigation it was determined a WHS student had brought a BB gun onto school grounds.
Upon investigation WPD's School Resource Officer "Tito" Negron immediately responded and secured the BB gun. School officials say with the assistance of the school's resource officer, the backpack was searched and the BB gun was recovered. At no time was the BB gun used to threaten other students or staff members they said.
"We are sending this message home to make families aware of a safety issue that occurred at Watervliet Jr.-Sr. High School today,' said WHS administration. "Please be assured that we are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all our students. We also know it is important to communicate with families when safety issues happen in our schools."
School officials encourage a discussion of this incident with your children and emphasize that it is against the law to bring any type of weapons to school. In addition, students are also encouraged to tell a staff member if they know about the presence of weapons, in a continued effort to work together to keep their schools safe.
The student will face disciplinary charges as per the district’s Code of Conduct. The WHS administration would like to thank officer Negron for taking quick action, and the student who brought this incident to the attention of an adult in the building. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the WHS administration or your child’s building principal.
