School ... locked down two hours after two live 22-caliber bullets found

[Coyote33]

Auburn School locked down for search

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Auburn School locked down for search


By Telegram & Gazette Staff


AUBURN— Auburn Middle School on Swanson Road was locked down for two hours today after two live 22-caliber bullets were found in the school, according to police and school officials.

As a result of the discovery, the school was thoroughly searched by Auburn and state police using metal detectors.

Students and their lockers were searched, according to Auburn Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr.

One of the casings was found in a hall in the lower level. The other casing was found in a bathroom, according to School Superintendent Helene Skrzyniarz.

All students remained in their homerooms during the search.

No weapons of any kind were found during the search. After the search was complete, students went to lunch and continued their school day, she said.

There was never a threat of any kind, she said.

The school was locked down from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Chief Sluckis said.
Police have scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m.

 

[Scrivener]

So just whatwas actually found?

"Live bullets" - what, they transmuted metal into life forms?

"Casings" - are for sausages. Next "threat."

Perhaps they mean cartridges. Then why not say so?

 

[sdavid]

I've had empty .22 casing "fall" out of the tread from a pair of boots once while at work. I was very happy that the halls were empty at the time.

This may just be someone with a hole in their pants or jacket and the rounds fell out. I love how the fourth went out the window because of two .22's.

 

[hminsky]

If they were .22 cases, they might have come from cement power hammers or the like, tools which use .22 blanks for shooting nails.

It is impossible to tell from the description. I assume "live" means unfired, but if they are casings, then there is no bullet.

Who the heck knows?

 

[Twigg]

I assume "live" means unfired, but if they are casings, then there is no bullet.

Who the heck knows?

Certinaly not the Telegram & Gazette Staff.

After all it's just their job. Why bother with accuracy when hyperbole and sensationalism sells more papers than fair, unbiased and truthfull journalism ?

 

[Pilgrim]

the radio called them 'cartridges', no mention of live.

 

[Scrivener]

the radio called them 'cartridges', no mention of live.

Refreshing that the radio reporter, obviously one of a select few, can distinguish a cartridge from a sausage from a bullet. Good work!

 

[Jose]

And who here was making fun of Londoners for their reaction to finding a 22 short on a doorstep?

 

[drgrant]

And who here was making fun of Londoners for their reaction to finding a 22 short on a doorstep?

Me. How much you want to bet someone out there is reading british
newspapers?

At least there wasn't any commentary about how dangerous the
cartridges were and how they could have blown up the whole
school if someone sneezed on one of them.

-Mike

 

[Coyote33]

Bullets discovered at school Auburn students, lockers searched

Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Bullets discovered at school

Auburn students, lockers searched

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF


AUBURN— Auburn Middle School was put under a precautionary lockdown yesterday after the discovery of two .22-caliber bullets.

“At this point of time, we don’t know who brought the ammunition into the facility,” Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. said during a press conference yesterday afternoon at the police station. “Obviously, we’re very concerned. As you all know, usually where there is ammunition, there is a firearm associated with it.”

At 11 a.m. yesterday, police were called to the middle school on Swanson Road after two bullets were found in the school. A .22-caliber round was found in a first-floor boys’ room, and the second round was found in a hallway leading up to the second floor. Both rounds were found by students and turned over to their respective teachers, Chief Sluckis said.


“With the bullet in the hallway, we would think that it would have been found prior to the 11 o’clock report time, if it was placed there yesterday (Monday) or very early this (yesterday) morning,” Chief Sluckis said. “It was probably placed there sometime in between classes, would be our best guess.”

After the discovery of the bullets, School Superintendent Helene Skrzyniarz gave the order to put the school in a precautionary lockdown and an announcement was made on the loudspeaker for the student responsible for bringing the bullets into school to come forward. No one did, the chief said.

All of the lockers and all students were searched. The students remained in their homerooms during the search.

“Once we conducted a thorough search of the lockers, we then began to use portable metal detectors and classrooms were searched, as well as each of the 600 students,” Chief Sluckis said.

No threat was ever made, and no weapons of any kind and no more bullets were found during the search, Chief Sluckis said. After the search was completed, students went to lunch and finished the rest of their school day, as well as after-school activities.

Chief Sluckis said a .22-caliber handgun could easily be concealed in a pocket. Although no weapon was found, he said, a live bullet is still a potential safety hazard.

“Those bullets, they have the capacity to travel somewhere in the area of a quarter of a mile,” he said. “So if you took that bullet and smashed it with a rock or did something to make the primer activate, it could be very, very deadly.”

Chief Sluckis said the person responsible for bringing the bullets into school would be brought up on charges, but that doesn’t mean that the penalties would be severe.

“We’re hoping that the individual who is responsible will voluntarily come forward,” he said. “If not, we have a couple of different leads that we are working on, and we’ll see what comes of that in the days that come.”

2 bullets found at Auburn school

Wednesday, November 22, 2006
2 bullets found at Auburn school

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF


AUBURN— Auburn Middle School was put under a precautionary lockdown yesterday after the discovery of two .22-caliber bullets.

“At this point of time, we don’t know who brought the ammunition into the facility,” Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. said during a press conference yesterday afternoon at the police station. “Obviously, we’re very concerned. As you all know, usually where there is ammunition, there is a firearm associated with it.”

At 11 a.m. yesterday, police were called to the middle school on Swanson Road after two bullets were found in the school. A .22-caliber round was found in a first-floor boys’ room, and the second round was found in a hallway leading up to the second floor. Both rounds were found by students and turned over to their respective teachers, Chief Sluckis said.


“With the bullet in the hallway, we would think that it would have been found prior to the 11 o’clock report time, if it was placed there yesterday (Monday) or very early this (yesterday) morning,” Chief Sluckis said. “It was probably placed there sometime in between classes, would be our best guess.”

After the discovery of the bullets, School Superintendent Helene Skrzyniarz gave the order to put the school in a precautionary lockdown and an announcement was made on the loudspeaker for the student responsible for bringing the bullets into school to come forward. No one did, the chief said.

All of the lockers and all students were searched. The students remained in their homerooms during the search.

“Once we conducted a thorough search of the lockers, we then began to use portable metal detectors and classrooms were searched, as well as each of the 600 students,” Chief Sluckis said.

No threat was ever made, and no weapons of any kind and no more bullets were found during the search, Chief Sluckis said. After the search was completed, students went to lunch and finished the rest of their school day, as well as after-school activities.

Appearing non-threatening in a small plastic bag, the copper-tipped inch-tall bullets that disrupted a normal school day were now the property of the Auburn Police Department and placed as evidence.

Chief Sluckis said a .22-caliber handgun could easily be concealed in a pocket. Although no weapon was found, he said, a live bullet is still a potential safety hazard.

“Those bullets, they have the capacity to travel somewhere in the area of a quarter of a mile,” he said. “So if you took that bullet and smashed it with a rock or did something to make the primer activate, it could be very, very deadly.”

Chief Sluckis said the person responsible for bringing the bullets into school would be brought up on charges, but that doesn’t mean that the penalties would be severe.

“We’re hoping that the individual who is responsible will voluntarily come forward,” he said. “If not, we have a couple of different leads that we are working on, and we’ll see what comes of that in the days that come.”

Although the school was in lockdown from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Ms. Skrzyniarz said, some students text-messaged their parents about the situation. Principal Ann O’Leary Ortiz wrote a letter to the students’ parents and guardians that detailed the situation and the safety measures carried out.

“Any time you have any type of a weapon, especially something that’s associated with a firearm, brought into the school, it’s a cause for alarm and great concern,” Chief Sluckis said. “That’s why we have the policies and the procedures and the great working relationship with the schools in place, so if and when something like this does occur, we’re prepared to deal with it.”

Ms. Skrzyniarz agreed with Chief Sluckis that the lockdown and extensive search were not an overreaction.

“Truthfully, I’m sure that there are people out there who think we took a very extreme measure, but when you’re dealing with students and you’re dealing with safety, in my mind, nothing is extreme,” she said.

Ms. Skrzyniarz acknowledged that someone quite possibly picked up the bullets in their travels.

“This is both city and rural, so you have a chance that someone might have been hunting or whatever,” she said. “There did not appear to be any danger, but we’ll keep a careful monitoring, however, of this situation.”

As for the possibility of placing walk-through metal detectors on the school premises, Ms. Skrzyniarz said that action would be “rather extreme.”

“I’ve taught in the inner city,” she said, “so I know what it feels like to go through a metal detector to get into a school. And it’s disconcerting for students, especially here in Auburn. That being said, I can tell you in speaking with Chief Sluckis and with the other officers, we discussed the fact of maybe having a (metal detector) wand in school.”

Ms. Skrzyniarz said the incident was a learning experience for the students, as well as good practice for the school’s lockdown procedure.

“The students have learned that we will go to any lengths to protect and — the second part is — we take everything seriously,” she said. “For children at this age, I think it’s critical for them to know that.”

“If someone had brought a weapon to school, planning to use it at the end of school or something, that would pose a very, very serious problem, if we didn’t take the steps that we did,” Chief Sluckis said. “Times have changed and society has changed, and what some people may perceive as a joke is no longer taken as a joke today. Things like this won’t be tolerated.”

 

[dwarven1]

Chief Sluckis said a .22-caliber handgun could easily be concealed in a pocket. Although no weapon was found, he said, a live bullet is still a potential safety hazard.

“Those bullets, they have the capacity to travel somewhere in the area of a quarter of a mile,” he said. “So if you took that bullet and smashed it with a rock or did something to make the primer activate, it could be very, very deadly.”

Well, we know that the Chief is an idiot. Even the packages that those oh-so-dangerous rounds come in state that they have a range of over a mile. As for it shooting if someone smashed the primer... I think that the cartridge would rupture before sending that bullet a "quarter mile".

 

[Pilgrim]

Probably some kid was out plinking the day before and the stuff fell out of his pocket.

My granddaughter inadvertently had some left over in her pocket after a range session with me and they went to school the next day but stayed in her pocket until later that night when we discovered them.

 

[Coyote33]

Chief Sluckis is a very bright guy, a nice guy, and a friend of RKBA from all I've read. Ever think the paper got it wrong?

 

[sksguns]

state law says you need to lock down a school for one hour per bullet found. Since they found two bullets it was two hours. Three bullets would have been three hours and so on.....

 

[sksguns]

Chief Sluckis is a very bright guy, a nice guy, and a friend of RKBA from all I've read. Ever think the paper got it wrong?

I saw the interview...he did say that.....

 

[dwarven1]

Chief Sluckis is a very bright guy, a nice guy, and a friend of RKBA from all I've read. Ever think the paper got it wrong?

Always a possibility...

 

[Len-2A Training]

Chief Sluckis is a very bright guy, a nice guy, and a friend of RKBA from all I've read. Ever think the paper got it wrong?

Maybe but it doesn't mean that he knows a damn thing about guns or ammo.

Most cops don't know diddly squat about firearms, it's not a requirement before they can carry them.

 

[LoginName]

The over reaction and media circus to this sort of thing only inspires or motivates devious "youts" to create their own shit-storm or school shut-down.

 

[noelephant]

state law says you need to lock down a school for one hour per bullet found. Since they found two bullets it was two hours. Three bullets would have been three hours and so on.....

Is this true? God forbid someone bring in a 500 round brick of .22lr...

You could have your child back in 20 days or so.

 

[fubar]

And who here was making fun of Londoners for their reaction to finding a 22 short on a doorstep?

I made fun of them. Add Auburn to the list. If they strip searched the kids and kick in the doors to a few homes they will find the evil gun owner whose kid doesn't have the brains or education to not take daddy's loose ammo to the school.

The kid needs a spanking. The dad needs to put loose ammo away. And the school admin & newspapers need someone to say - " yeah , whatever. A few loose 22 rounds do not mean a mass murderer is prowling the school any more than a butane lighter means an arsonist is going to burn the school. Everyone should calm the hell down "

 

[sksguns]

Is this true? God forbid someone bring in a 500 round brick of .22lr...

You could have your child back in 20 days or so.

No. It's just a joke.

 

[Coyote33]

AMS student comes forward in bullet lockdown

AMS student comes forward in bullet lockdown

A twelve-year-old male student at Auburn Middle School came forward last week and admitted he was the one who brought the two, .22-caliber bullets found in the school that caused an emergency lockdown of the building.
“It appears that it was an accident, he did not place the bullets in the school on purpose,” said Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis.

The student will face a suspension from school and two counts of possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, according to Sluckis.
“The student and his father came forward to claim responsibility for the incident due to its seriousness and because the father wanted his son to accept responsibility,” said Sluckis.
When the suspension will take place and how long it will last is uncertain. Superintendent of Schools, Helene Skrzyniarz was unwilling to comment on the boy’s punishment because of his age.
He will appear in Juvenile Court in approximately a month, according to Sluckis, who thinks the punishment will be relatively lenient due to the boy’s history.
“He has never been in trouble with the Auburn Police or any police department for that matter,” said Sluckis. “The schools said he was an excellent student.”
According to Sluckis, the boy had been out practice shooting with his father the day before the incident and the bullets, which are approximately the size of coins; probably fell from his pocket without him knowing.

 

[dwarven1]

A really good reminder to CHECK YOUR POCKETS and to do the same to your kids' pockets after shooting.

 

[Admin]

According to Sluckis, the boy had been out practice shooting with his father the day before the incident and the bullets, which are approximately the size of coins; probably fell from his pocket without him knowing.

 

[sksguns]

Nice lesson for the kid. If you're the father and you're neglegent blame your kid and let him take the fall. The father, being the licensed gun owner, had a responsibility to account for every round in his posession on the range that day. Instead his kid pocketed two or more and ropped a couple at school and the father let him take the fall. I would never do that to my kid.

 

[drgrant]

I dunno I just think the whole damn thing is blown out of
proportion.

I guess I just don't get the mentality here. A couple of 22 rimfires
have turned into the equivalent of a packet filled with
anthrax- But that's the MA hoplophobe mentality for
you.

I don't necessarily blame the PD either.... because invariably if some
soccer mom found out they found the ammo and did nothing, thered be
some kind of an uproar about it. The "guh buh wuhs" have to have their
safety fetish satisfied.

-Mike

 

[Admin]

I agree Mike...

 

[Jose]

Ahhhh, the urban myth of hitting the primer with a nail or rock.......

And so we continue our overall slide into total ignorance.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Ahhhh, the urban myth of hitting the primer with a nail or rock.......

And so we continue our overall slide into total ignorance.

No kidding.

It's not just non-gun people that fall prey to this either. I was tending the bonfire at my club's "Clean-up Day" last spring. I threw a dud .22 round into the fire and watched 5 or 6 grown men dive for cover as if a mortar round was on the way in. I stood there, 20' away from the fire, leaning on a rake when the thing popped. They still think I'm crazy.

 

[Coyote33]

Again!

Auburn school locked down again by police