FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — A Wake County teacher and assistant principal are being credited with disarming a student who fired a gun in a classroom Thursday morning at Fuquay-Varina Middle School.
In a message posted on the school’s website, it said that during morning arrival at 7:59 a.m., a student fired a weapon inside a classroom, damaging a window. The school immediately went into a Code Red lockdown.
The school says a teacher heard the gunshot and immediately entered the classroom.
“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 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.”
The school has not named the teacher or assistant principal who disarmed the student.
As a result of the incident, students were dismissed early and after-school activities were canceled.
Some buses taking elementary school students to school Thursday morning were delayed due to the need to reroute buses to send the Fuquay-Varina Middle School students home.
No reason has been given by police for why the student fired the gun. But students told WTVD-TV, 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 Wake County Sheriff’s Office will release an additional update as further details become available.”
Parents of Fuquay-Varina Middle School 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 nonstop 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.”
In the update, 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.
“As we all work to make sense of this, our utmost concern as always, is how our students, families and staff are doing,” the school said.
The school is providing parents with tips to talk about the incident. Student Support Services teams will also be available to talk to students and offer as much support as possible.
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.
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