Teacher, assistant principal praised for disarming student who fired gun in NC classroom
Update: NC teacher talks about disarming student who fired gun. ‘I just knew I had to take it.’ Read our interview with the teacher here.
Classes will be canceled Friday at Fuquay-Varina Middle School a day after a teacher and assistant principal disarmed a student who fired a gun inside a classroom.
During Thursday morning arrival at 7:59 a.m., a student fired a weapon inside a classroom, damaging a window, according to a message posted on the school’s website. The school immediately went into a Code Red lockdown.
The school district says Lynn Guilliams, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, heard the gunshot and immediately entered the classroom. Wake says Paige Elliott, an assistant principal, also entered the room.
“The teacher encouraged the student to give her the weapon,” the school said. “There were several students in the classroom at this time. No one was hurt. Our assistant principal entered the classroom, obtained and unloaded the weapon.”
The Wake County sheriff’s deputy who serves as the school resource officer and Fuquay-Varina Police responded.
Fuquay-Varina Police said that one juvenile has been detained, and the firearm was seized.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday night that it had obtained a secure custody order for a 12-year-old student at the school. The student had been served with a juvenile petition.
Seth Lanterman-Schneider, 39, of Willow Spring is charged with selling/giving a weapon to a minor, which is a misdemeanor, according to the sheriff’s office.
The school and police said there were no injuries.
“We are especially grateful for the quick actions of the teacher and assistant principal today to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” the school said. “We are also grateful to the Fuquay-Varina Police Department, Wake County Sheriff’s Office and our security team for their swift response.”
Neither Elliott or Guilliams were available for comment Thursday.
Teacher workday Friday
As a result of the incident, students were dismissed early Thursday and after-school activities were canceled.
The school announced that classes will not be held Friday. It will become a teacher workday. After school activities will again be canceled Friday.
“Today was a difficult day for our school community,” the school said in a message to parents. “Our school will have a Teacher Workday tomorrow, Dec. 9, to provide our students, families and staff time and space to process this difficult situation.”
Staff from the school district’s Crisis Team will be available on campus from 10 a.m. to noon Friday to support any student who needs assistance.
The school says no makeup day will be required. The school will use banked instructional hours to cover the time.
‘An isolated incident’
No reason has been given by police for why the student fired the gun. But students told ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner, that the gun went off as a sixth-grade student was taking the weapon out of their backpack.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office says the threat was not directed at any students or staff.
“This appears to be an isolated incident and no further threats are present as it relates to this incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “Wake County Sheriff’s Office is currently still on scene conducting further investigation into this incident in conjunction with Wake County Public School System.”
The school said that it is not allowed to discuss disciplinary action for an individual student. But the school said that state law requires a 365-day suspension of any student in possession of a firearm.
‘Scary, scary morning’
Parents of Fuquay-Varina Middle students thanked Fuquay-Varina Police for their quick response and talked about how relieved they were that no one was injured.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, for keeping our kids and teachers safe,” Janine Iannone Grande said in a Facebook comment. “Scary text to receive from my child this morning. I cannot wait to wrap my arms around him.”
Brooke Love said on Facebook that her daughter felt extremely relieved because she saw the police response.
“Scary scary morning for those students,” Love added.
Wendy Marie Fuller said on Facebook that her daughter had been texting her non-stop because she was scared.
“Thank you FVPD for keeping our babies safe,” Fuller added.
Fuquay-Varina Mayor Blake Massengill urged “everyone in Fuquay-Varina to hold their loved ones a bit closer today.”
“Today’s incident at Fuquay-Varina Middle School has shaken our community,” Massengill said in a Facebook post. “Thankfully, our students and teachers are safe, which is primarily due to extensive training and the swift response of all involved.”
School violence fears
The shooting comes amid a time of rising fears of school violence and a spate of hoax school shooting threats affecting schools across the country. On Monday, the three schools on the Wakefield campus in Raleigh were locked down after a false report of a person with a gun near the schools.
There have been 47 school shootings in the United States this year and 140 since 2018 that have resulted in deaths or injuries, according to Education Week’s 2022 School Shooting Tracker. This year’s school shootings have resulted in 36 deaths and 96 injuries.
In response to the safety concerns, the Johnston County school system will install weapons detectors at the main entrances of every school. The district, which borders Wake County, is also planning to have a school resource officer in every school.
There are school resource officers in every Wake County high school and middle school but only a few in elementary schools. Wake also doesn’t use weapons detectors at school entrances.
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Teacher, assistant principal praised for disarming student who fired gun in NC classroom."
