Student shoots himself at middle school
Officials lock down Jackson Middle after incident.
A Jackson JACKSON TWP. —
Middle School student has been transported by helicopter to Akron Children’s Hospital with what police believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The student shot himself in a boy’s restroom at the middle school about 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, about 10 minutes before school was scheduled to begin.
A spokesperson at Mercy Medical Center said the student was no longer a patient at that hospital.
Students at the middle school were placed in lockdown and released to their parents Tuesday afternoon.
“They wouldn’t tell us what was going on. I thought there was a school shooting. There was a lot of waiting,” eighth-grader Alex Garcia said. “I didn’t have any idea there was someone with a gun until I was released.”
When Garcia was released, his mother, Trixie, hugged him and started crying.
“I just wanted my son back in my arms,” she said.
“My morning has been a nightmare,” said Diana Philips, whose son Avery is a sixth-grader at the school. Philips hugged her son and started crying when they were reunited.
An alert message confirming the shooting incident was sent out to parents by Superintendent Chris DiLoreto.
Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink tried to reassure parents during a press conference Tuesday morning.
“We’ve got to look into how that happened and from that put a plan together and make sure we have a presence here, especially going forward,” Brink said.
The incident occurred on the first day of school back from a holiday break, and after police from multiple agencies investigated threats made on social media over the weekend that were deemed not credible. There was a heightened police presence at several Stark County school buildings Tuesday morning.
“That Florida shooting just happened, and you keep thinking about your kid,” said parent Daniela Biller, who has three students at the middle school. “I just bawled my eyes out watching the Florida shooting and thinking about what if it was my kids.”
Jackson police the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Ohio Highway Patrol and Stark County Sheriff ’s Office were at the scene.
Students at Jackson High School were evacuated and all other buildings in Jackson Local Schools were closed. All school-related events were canceled for today.
High school students without a ride home could be seen walking home on an unseasonably warm late-February day.
Christine Affolter praised the school district for the way it handled reuniting parents and students.
She confirmed her son, Kameryn, didn’t know what was going on while he was in a classroom.
“Kids drill for these things,” Affolter said. “They know what to do when it happens. There is no drill for parents, though. There is no way to prepare for that.”
Parents heard rumors on social media throughout the morning.
Larry Andreff arrived at the middle school to pick up his child and was relieved to learn the incident was contained.
“First and foremost all the kids are safe,” Andreff said. “I think all the parents are relieved.”
Lori Musaelyan has a sixthgrader in the school. Her son keeps his phone in his locker, so she couldn’t contact him.
“You don’t expect this,” she said. “It just doesn’t happen to us. It shouldn’t happen to anyone. I hope my son’s OK. I hope he didn’t have to witness it.”
Jennifer Moore, 37, of Jackson, has a sixth-grader. She was with her youngest daughter, 9, who goes to Amherst. Moore waited for 20 minutes for the bus. When it didn’t come, she called the bus garage and was told the middle school and high school were on lockdown and the elementary schools were closed. She was supposed to go to work but rushed over to the school. She doesn’t allow her child to take her phone to school but is now reconsidering it.
“It’s hard as a parent not knowing what’s going on, and you’re hearing it from other sources,” she said. “You don’t know what’s true and what’s rumor. I don’t know how my daughter is handling it. I don’t know if she’ll feel safe coming back to school tomorrow. You never think it will come to your little town. I always thought Jackson was a safe place.”
Jackson Middle School has sixth- to eighth-grade students. It is the largest middle school in Stark County. There are roughly 1,400 students and about 130 teachers and staff at the school.