by Anita Baffoni, WPRO News
It is the second gun related incident within two weeks at Durfee High School in Fall River. Now, changes are coming including the use of metal detectors and wands.
On Monday morning, students showed faculty a picture on SnapChat of a student holding a gun around 9:30a.m. The school was put on lockdown and Fall River police searched the building for the firearm pictured.
Students piled out of the school around 11:30am and many parents picked up their children after they received a call about the incident. One parent said Superintendent Matthew Malone spoke with parents in the cafeteria when they came to the school to pick up their children.
“I was frantic. I tried to call the school, no answer. I tried to call the Fall River police department, no answer. Everything was off the hook,” Kerri St. Germain, a mother of a junior at Durfee said to WPRO. “We had received a phone call that everything was taken care of and they weren’t going to accept any of this bologna from the students.”
Superintendent Malone issued a press release that said the suspect left the school and police were dispatched to the child’s home.
“Fall River police arrested a Durfee High School student at his home and confiscated a BB gun in his possession which was determined to be the gun in the photo,” the release reads. “The lockdown was lifted and parents were allowed to dismiss their children at their discretion.”
A sophomore student says she was scared when she heard about the picture.
“Everyone was overthinking it and they all wanted to leave,” she said. “They thought they were coming to shoot people.”
Starting Tuesday, Malone says there will be increased security at the entrance of the building, like the use of metal detectors and wands. Also, only students and staff will be allowed to enter the building through the main entrance “until further notice.”
“Students should also be aware that it will be required that ID’s be worn at all times and that metal detectors and wands will be used upon entering the building,” the release reads. “Increased police presence will also be seen in school.”
School continued as scheduled for students who remained in the building.
