Norwich student disciplined after bringing broken BB gun to school
Editor's note: The date of the incident has been corrected to Feb. 28. An earlier version of this story reported the incident as taking place Jan. 31.
Norwich – School officials said a fifth grade boy at the Samuel Huntington School was disciplined after he brought an inoperable BB gun to school in a backpack on Feb. 28.
Superintendent Abby Dolliver said neither the school nor the boy's classroom were not put in lockdown because school officials responded immediately to secure the backpack, and the BB gun was never removed from it.
Dolliver said another student apparently saw the boy put the BB gun into his backpack and reported that to a teacher when the bus arrived at school. Principal Siobhan O'Connor had been in a meeting, but immediately went to the boy's classroom.
The principal took the backpack and escorted the boy to the principal's office, Dolliver said. Contrary to rumors about the incident, Dolliver said, the boy was never left alone with the backpack, and the BB gun never was removed from the bag.
O'Connor called School Resource Officer Anthony Gomes, who inspected the BB gun and determined it was not operational. The boy was disciplined by the school, Dolliver said, and was not arrested.
c.bessette@theday.com
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