BALDWINSVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – A 14-year-old Durgee Junior High School student was taken into custody and charged with making a terroristic threat on Monday, March 6 after a Baldwinsville Police Department investigation revealed the student had brought a handgun to school in February.
Last Monday, administrators at the school were made aware of texts and social media messages that were circulating amongst students at the school that contained concerns that a student had brought a gun to school and had made statements threatening violence, according to a press release issued by Baldwinsville police on Tuesday, March 7.
Police immediately conducted an investigation and determined that the student had brought a handgun to school at some point in time in February and had shown it to another student.
The student was not in possession of the weapon last Monday, but as a precautionary measure all lockers were searched by members of Durgee’s administrative team.
Members of the Baldwinsville Police Department responded to the youth’s home and all weapons that were at the residence were willingly turned over to police by the youth’s parents.
“At this time, all weapons secured from the parent’s home, appear to be legally owned and at the time of the officer’s arrival, were secured as per all New York State laws,” the release states.
Baldwinsville police have applied for an Extreme Risk Protection Order with the assistance of the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office.
All charges will be referred to Onondaga County Family Court.
On Monday afternoon, Baldwinsville Central School District officials sent an email to parents of Durgee students alerting them to the threat and indicating “the students who reportedly saw the weapon and heard the threats before break did not bring this to our attention until today.”
“Safety is our number one priority, and all students and staff are safe. We would like to thank the students who reported this concern,” the email to parents states. “We encourage you to talk with your child about the seriousness of threats and the importance of immediately reporting suspicious activities, threats, or disturbing information to a trusted adult.”