Report of Gun Prompts Riot Police to Lock Down MD School

abcnews.go.com...

"We have to check every child," said Shirley Copado, a communications manager in the sheriff's office. "The only situation we had was a student was presumably spotted with a gun."

About two dozen officers were seen entering the school wearing riot gear and two people were led out in handcuffs. Copado would not confirm that any arrests had been made.

St. Mary's County Public School system officials referred calls to county government officials, who could not immediately be reached by telephone. Calls to a nearby middle school and technology center that also were reportedly locked down were referred to the central office.

I am so glad I'm out of school. This kind of stuff really, really angers me. They have an uncomfirmed report of a gun, so they send in 20 or so officers wearing the riot get-up to quell the situation, like it's a prison!

Two people led away in handcuffs, and no arrests reported. That's curious...

Hopefully more information will be available shortly.

Edit: More information - 4 schools locked down...

www.baltimoresun.com...

Authorities said they had an unconfirmed report of a gun, leading them to lock down the school, St. Mary's County sheriff's office officials said. WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., reported three adjoining schools also were locked down -- Leonardtown Middle School, Dr. James A. Forest Career and Technology Center, and the Alternative Learning Center.

Copado said no one had been shot, but another student was taken out of the school with an unrelated medical emergency.

[edit on 19-5-2006 by WyrdeOne]

[edit on 19-5-2006 by WyrdeOne]

Well, the initial reports claimed a security guard reported the presence of a gun. Actually, it appears it was a boy and his grandmother who thought they saw some kid with a gun, and presumably they brought it to the attention of a secrurity guard, who passed it up to the cops, who showed up like gangbusters.

cbs2.com...

Officers in riot gear searched a locked-down high school Friday after a student and his grandmother reported seeing someone put a handgun in a backpack and approach the building.

The two believe that person was another student but weren't been able to identify him inside the school building, and no gun was found after an hour of searching, officials said.

One girl was taken away by ambulance after suffering an anxiety attack, and two construction workers found behind the school were taken into custody on unrelated charges of illegal substance possession, County Sheriff David D. Zylak said.

My emphasis. So, yeah, this is ridiculous. The war on personal freedoms rolls on, in the guise of measures designed to protect us. Lemme pose this question, what's gonna protect us from the police state?

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Well, the initial reports claimed a security guard reported the presence of a gun. Actually, it appears it was a boy and his grandmother who thought they saw some kid with a gun, and presumably they brought it to the attention of a secrurity guard, who passed it up to the cops, who showed up like gangbusters.

My emphasis. So, yeah, this is ridiculous. The war on personal freedoms rolls on, in the guise of measures designed to protect us. Lemme pose this question, what's gonna protect us from the police state?

How is this response a violation of personal freedoms? If the Police had blown this off and not responded and something happened what would your view be then?

My nephews go to this school, if the Police are going to make a mistake I prefer it be on the side of caution. When you are not sure of what you are going to need, you bring everything you have.

How is this response a violation of personal freedoms? If the Police had blown this off and not responded and something happened what would your view be then?

My nephews go to this school, if the Police are going to make a mistake I prefer it be on the side of caution. When you are not sure of what you are going to need, you bring everything you have.

Conducting gun searches based on citizen tips and using that to spur drug arrests, that's a clear invasion of privacy and an end run around the established system for obtaining warrants. I realize the school property argument, and obviously, I don't agree with the notion that being on school property makes kids into school property, but that's decided and is in effect now. I worry that the awful precedent is causing a ripple effect, to the point where anyone within thousands of yards of a school can be considered a non-entity in terms of rights.

I don't look forward to the day when police can stop and search you for no reason, and use evidence gained from such searches in a trial - just because you happen to live or work in sight of a school or a government building of some kind.

'We think there might be a gun somewhere in the vicinity' is not a justification, IMO, for a search of hundreds of students and nearby workers. When there's a gun scare downtown, are they going to line up all the office workers and search them? Of course not..yet.

I don't think I could ever put a kid in a public school for this reason. The state has more power than the parents. They can diagnose and even treat medical/mental problems without even gaining parental consent, they can arrest and detain, even question without parental notification. They can interogate your kids if they suspect YOU of a crime, and never tell you. They can lockdown the schools and prevent you from picking up your kid for an indefinite period of time, and you're fine with all of this?

I'm really glad to have the perspective of someone connected to the school, is there anything else you can tell us?

WyrdeOne

I don't know any more than you. My sister called my mother, who called me, telling me that both of the boys were fine. I'm in Pittsburgh, quite a distance away.

I agree with alot of what you are saying, but I have to add one thing. When parents enroll their child into school they are giving their implied consent for searches such as what happened here. It is the samething as your giving implied consent for DUI checkpoints when you sign for your driver's license. I don't agree with it, but that is the way things are. Until enough people grow balls and retake our rights from the politicians. As far as the controlled substance arrests go, that's their tough luck. Anybody stupid enough to have it on school property deserves to get busted.