Official: Shots fired outside school at recess

NEW HAVEN — LincolnBassett School was put into lockdown late Wednesday morning after shots were fired outside the building, according to a district spokesman.

No injuries were reported, spokesman Justin Harmon said.

“All students are safe. Police were on the scene,” Harmon said in an email.

Mayor Justin Elicker, who went to the school following the incident, said, “It is deeply concerning that people would shoot, especially midday near a school.”

The “gunshots were fired from a passing vehicle,” Harmon said. “This incident occurred while students were outdoors playing at recess.”

Harmon said the “securi

ty officer and school personnel got the children inside rapidly.”

“Police responded immediately,” he said in the email. “The school was reopened just after noon when the police deemed it safe.”

Police spokesman Officer Scott Shumway said while the shots fired did cause a lockdown at the school, “the lockdown was brief and it was determined that the school was not the target.”

“At this time, this is believed to be an isolated incident with no further danger to the school,” Shumway said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we will have an extra presence in the area.”

Harmon said in a telephone interview that he did not yet know how many shots were fired or where they landed or whether any bullets hit the school.

“When the shots started, the teachers and security who were out there ran to make sure the children got inside very quickly, which they were able to do,” Harmon said.

Harmon said students have regular drills for fire, lockdown and shelter in place scenarios, and “all schools are asked to file crisis plans for use in an emergency.”

Harmon said the teachers soothed the children and used “all efforts” to calm them down and communicate what happened.

“The district has crisis counselors who work on scene with school social workers and staff after an incident such as this,” he said. “They are working with the affected students right now.”

Elicker, commenting just after he left the school, said “the shots appear to have come from two vehicles that were near the school and the corner of Shelton Avenue and Ivy Street who quickly left the area.

“The incident was unrelated to the school,” he said. “Teachers acted quickly to bring kids inside the school and put the school on lockdown until it was determined there was no threat.”

Elicker said staff from Clifford Beers, which provides mental health care, was on site to talk with students. Police said Yale Child Study Center staff also were on site.

“We are working hard to respond to the increase in violence in the city,” Elicker said.

A nearby resident said she heard the gunfire.

“It was bad. It was a whole lot of shots,” she said.

“... They were just shooting.”

The woman, who did not want her name used, said neighbors are told the street is full of cameras mounted on top of stoplights, so she expects the police should be able to find out what happened.

The woman said that by the time she looked out her window, the children already were inside the building.

“I feel terrible. It’s just ridiculous,” she said of the incident.

The magnet school on Bassett Street serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Brian Zahn / Hearst Connecticut Media Lincoln-Bassett School was put into lockdown late Wednesday morning after shots were fired outside the building. The lockdown was later lifted.