#Norwalk CT–2/20–At 10:43am Norwalk High School staff reported an incident to the Norwalk Police School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to Norwalk High School. Staff reported that a student had informed staff that the student believed they had heard someone pulling the slide back on a handgun in a men’s room within the school at 8:30am. At no time did the student see a firearm and at no time were there any threats made. The SRO and an extra duty officer assigned to a daily security detail at Norwalk High School advised Norwalk Combined Dispatch and immediately conducted a search of the men’s room and the immediate area. The officers did not find anyone or any evidence during that search. Additional Officers and Special Victims Unit Investigators responded on the scene. Norwalk High School staff placed the school into Protect-In-Place status. At this time no students were allowed to leave the campus or their classrooms and no one was permitted to enter the campus. Investigators conducted interviews, reviewed security camera footage and devised an investigate action plan. Part of the plan was a coordinated early dismissal of all students which commenced at 1:30pm. All students were dismissed to the bus line, to their personal cars or to their parents/caregivers at the American Legion on County Street, which was designated as the reunification location. Once the school was empty and with the assistance of the Stamford Police Bomb Squad K9 Unit, the school was searched for firearms however none were located.
At this time the investigation has found no evidence to substantiate the complaint that was received this morning. No arrests have been made and at this time none are expected. Norwalk High School staff is in the process of conducting a secondary search of classrooms, lockers and bags. Norwalk High School will start at the normal time tomorrow and staff will assist students with retrieving their belongings left behind today. We continue to encourage all students, staff and community members to immediately report all suspicious activity to us. Our contacts are listed below.
1-Call 911
2-Anonymous Internet Tips can be sent to the Norwalk Police website at www.Norwalkpd.com
3-Anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing NPD into the text field, followed by the message and sending it to CRIMES (274637)
We thank the students, staff, parents and caregivers for their cooperation today. We will have additional officers assigned to Norwalk High School throughout the day tomorrow.
This press release is made possible by:
Many perpetrators of school gun violence slip through the cracks. Sometimes this occurs because no one reports concerning behaviors or suspicious activity. In the wake of the latest school shooting, students and community members have been encouraged to speak up if they hear or see something suspicious.
Therefore, I am disgusted that this article calls the shelter in place “a hoax”. Where is the evidence that it was a hoax? Everyone should be thankful, of course, that it was unsubstantiated; but perhaps the person who reported it felt they were doing the right thing by reporting a concern. How do you think they now feel reading the word “hoax”, which implies that they purposely provided false information? The writer of this article needs to give specific facts supporting that it was a hoax or use a dictionary to look up what a “hoax” is defined as and correct the article title. People need to be encouraged to speak up when they perceive danger. The title of this article is shaming and discourages the philosophy “if you see something, say something” by dismissing the report as a lie.