Gun scare rattles South Bronx school

Security at a Mott Haven school was tight Tuesday morning after a parent reported there was a gun on campus. As students at the Community School for Social Justice and Health Opportunities Secondary

News 12 Staff

Apr 7, 2009, 5:46 PM

Updated 5,719 days ago

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Security at a Mott Haven school was tight Tuesday morning after a parent reported there was a gun on campus.
As students at the Community School for Social Justice and Health Opportunities Secondary School passed through a metal detector at 350 Gerard Ave., they emptied their pockets and opened their book bags for inspection.
"I was in class, and everyone was saying different stories about guns and everything, and we [were] just scared," says 10th-grader Sharon Williams.
According to the school's principal, the gun scare had no connection to his students and no weapon was found on campus. Students, however, say metal detectors remain a necessity.
"If they need metal detectors for their safety, I approve," says parent Caridad Rivera. "But it's a very great school."
A spokesperson for the Department of Education says the NYPD routinely performs checks with metal detectors at the school. Principals have the option of requesting permanent detectors to be installed in the building.