Bullets prompt WMS lockdown
Police respond in force to Hamlet Middle School after ammunition discovered in bathroom, student warning
WOONSOCKET — A custodian’s discovery of a small quantity of bullets in a boy’s bathroom at the Hamlet Middle School Friday afternoon, and a female student’s warning of a possible shooting incident as she later left the school property, prompted a lockdown of the school while two incidents were investigated.
School Superintendent Patrick McGee, who arrived at the school while the lockdown was in place, said that although the school was still being checked out after the dismissal of students, “everyone is safe, everyone is OK, everyone is fine.”
McGee could not comment further on the incident at that point and said he would be issuing a letter to parents on what had happened as soon as he returned to his office. McGee said he had been told about bullets being found in the school and that
the incident remained under investigation.
“They are checking to make sure there are no other students in the rooms and there is still some teaching staff in there,” he said. “But everyone is safe.”
Members of the police department had responded to the school in force when the report of the girl’s warning came in, and oversaw a room by room search of the building that ended at about 3:25 p.m.
Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III also stated that everyone was safe while meeting with members of media just after the lock down was lifted.
Oates said that the discovery of the bullets in the boy’s bathroom came just as students were beginning the day’s dismissal at about 1:40 p.m.
“Right at about dismissal time, at the same time students are usually getting out of the school, one of the janitorial staff, while cleaning one of the boy’s rooms, found a small amount of ammunition,” Oates said.
Although a concern as to how it was brought to the school, Oates said the incident became more alarming when a female student amidst a group of students walking home “began to scream there is possibly going to be a shooting or something to the effect alluding that there [was] maybe a shooting.
“So that obviously ratcheted up what was found. So we responded here,” Oates said.
The school was locked down, Oates said, and the remaining students and teachers that were in the school sheltered in place wherever they were located at the time of the lock down.
“Our officers responded. We did room-to-room search of the school. We searched individuals that were leaving the school and we were trying to clear it and make sure that no one had a weapon on them,” Oates said. Some of the officers responding were from the department’s special response unit and wore body armor while armed with assault weapons.
“We did not find any weapons in the school. We didn’t find any weapons on anyone else,” the chief said. Oates emphasized that “there was no one injured in this incident.”
Members of the police department were following up with the girl making the statement about a shooting after she was identified, Oates said, “to see if it was just a prank or actually she is some how related to the ammunition that was found.
“So that investigation is underway right now and the investigation of the ammunition found in the school, that is in the beginning stages also,” the chief said.
Oates told reporters that the ammunition appeared to real but he declined to list its caliber or type while the investigation continued. “It’s a small amount of ammunition, under 10 rounds,” Oates told reporters.
“I don’t know where it came from. There is quite a lot of ammunition unfortunately, out there. Whether it was just a kid from the school who got it from his house and decided to bring it into the school, it presents a problem, you can’t have ammunition in any school regardless of whether there is a firearm with it or not,” Oates said.
The middle school incident came as the latest school shooting incident nationally, a tragedy claiming 17 lives at a high school in Parkland, Fla. on Wednesday, had police and school officials around the country re-examining their crisis response plans and school safety provisions. The middle school’s flag, flying near the Hamlet entrance while local police and school officials entered and exited the school was a stark reminder of seriousness of any school weapons incident today.
Oates made that point himself while saying police are still trying to determine whether the female student had been making a joke as she left the school or knew something more.
“It just so happened, it coincided,” Oates said of the two incidents. “Now whether she knew anything about the ammunition at that time, or she was just clowning around – thinking she was going to be funny – that is part of what we are looking into now,” he said. Police were speaking with the student at her home, but could pursue charges against her if the investigation determines any laws were violated.
“We are going to see exactly what she said and what her intent was,” Oates said.
Oates also added it was too early to say who brought the bullets into the school or what the outcome of the investigation would be.
“We are just in the process of that investigation right now. We believe it could be someone that either worked in the school or is a student here in the school,” he said. Police had not searched student lockers on Friday, the last day of school before the February vacation, according to Oates.
The lock down was activated by the school’s principal at dismissal time when the custodian finding the bullets brought them to the front office, Oates said.
Most of the students had already been released at their normal times but some students were still inside the school for afternoon programs or tutoring with teachers and other staff, Oates said. The chief estimated the number of people still in the building to be around 50.
“There were programs that were going on after school, tutoring programs, that have teaching staff and there was some cafeteria staff that was also still here,” Oates said. “Yes those people were in the school and we discovered them as we when passed through and cleared the school. They were locked in different classrooms and locked in different areas of the school wherever they were at the time the lock down went into effect,” he said. “And then when, we as we did our room to room check of the school, as we came upon them we escorted them out,” Oates said.
A shorter period of lock down went into effect at the adjacent Villa Nova Middle School until it was determined that building was not involved in the incident, according to Oates.
Parents may have been alarmed to hear about the lock down, Oates conceded, but he added the number of students affected was small.
“We’re fortunate there was no one injured here. Obviously it’s a concern as to who brought the ammunition in-- what their intent was. So with everything that is going on in the country, we take this very seriously-- even if it is just the fact that ammunition was found,” Oates said.
“Luckily that’s all that was, right now at this point we certainly want to find out who was responsible for bringing in that ammunition into the school and finding out what their intent was. Why they would do such a thing,” the chief said.
“And I would just caution even kids, and even anyone. Don’t make jokes around the schools right now as far as what potentially is going to happen,” Oates said. If that was the student’s intent who made the comment outside the building, “that’s certainly not the place for it,” Oates said.