HUNTINGTON— A report of a dangerous weapon and a lockdown at Gateway Regional ended peacefully Tuesday with the discovery of a mistaken piece of welded material.
At 9:45 a.m. the Gateway Regional School complex called a “shelter in place” lockdown after a student reported seeing a dangerous weapon in another student’s locker.
According to Wendy Long, the district’s spokeswoman, a student told her teacher she saw a gun in the locker of another student. The teacher notified Principal Jason Finnie who initiated the shelter in place safety procedure.
Personnel from the Huntington Police Department, the Worthington Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police arrived on scene and conducted schoolwide locker searches. The suspected student was identified and a second search concluded a piece of welded material had been mistaken as the dangerous weapon.
At approximately 10:45 a.m. the shelter in place was lifted and the school day continued as normal.
“Despite the disruption to the school day, I applaud the student who reported seeing what she thought was a weapon,” said Finnie, in a call to all district parents aftr the event.