Incident involving BB gun leads to emergency response
By Eddie West Staff Writer
A youth was detained following an incident in which a BB gun resembling a handgun was discovered inside Gordonsville High School, Thursday morning.
Multiple law enforcement officers, including Gordonsville police and deputies with the sheriffs department, responded to an alarm sounding as an emergency situation was taking place at the school.
A teacher pushed a Centegix critical alert badge or panic button sounding the alarm which was received by school administrators, school resource officers and law enforcement.
The panic button also details the location of the emergency whether inside a school building or elsewhere on the campus.
Student resource officers, school administrators and law enforcement responded to the emergency situation and the youth was detained within minutes and removed from the school shortly thereafter.
Response to the emergency was so swift, some sheriffs department deputies while en route to the school backed down to non-emergency traffic, signaling any potential threat had been eliminated.
The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. in the lower level of the high school where seventh and grade students attend class.
When he saw what resembled the handle of a handgun on the male student who was detained, a fellow student engaged the youth, throwing what turned out to be a BB gun aside.
While the incident may not have involved an actual gun, at least for a period, it was believed to be a weapon by students.
Some of the sheriffs department deputies were at the school for only a matter of minutes as the emergency situation had been resolved upon their arrival.
Meanwhile, a Gordonsville Police Department unit continued to be parked at the front of the school into the afternoon.
When the incident occurred, the school was on temporary lockdown.
In an age of instant communication, almost immediately after the incident many parents learned that a BB gun had been discovered inside the school.
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