Police: Student, 14, tried to carjack motorists

A Rockland middle school was locked down shortly after the start of the school day Tuesday when a student began waving a gun – which turned out to be a pellet gun – in school and later tried to carjack several vehicles near the school, according to police.

A 14-year-old South Orangetown Middle School student is under arrest in connection with the weapon scare, which comes almost a year after a parent brought a gun to the same school and confronted the South Orangetown schools superintendent.

Orangetown police Chief Kevin Nulty said meetings with school officials over the past year – and as recently as last week – helped his officers prepare for Tuesday's incident, which included a search of the building after the student's arrest.

Police and school officials said they do not yet know what led the student involved to bring the pellet gun to school. Because of his age, police and school officials would not reveal the identity of the student. Police do not believe any other students were involved in this incident.

Nulty said the incident began around  9 a.m. when a student took what appeared to be an automatic handgun out of a backpack and began waving it at a teacher in a school office. The student, Nulty said, then left the classroom and waved the gun at a teacher in a hallway at the school in Blauvelt.

The student left the building, Nutly said, and began pointing the pellet gun at passing motorists along Van Wyck Road in front of the middle school. Nulty said the student apparently made several unsuccessful efforts at carjacking a vehicle on Van Wyck Road.

Nutly said a retired police officer was among the motorists on the street at the moment the student was pointing the gun at cars. Nulty said the retired officer stopped his car and then tackled the student.

The retired officer turned the student over to police, who arrived as the student was being subdued. Nulty said no one was injured in the incident and the student was taken to police headquarters in Orangeburg to be questioned.

Pending further review by the District Attorney's Office, Nulty said the student was being charged as a juvenile with four counts of attempted robbery, menacing and illegal possession of a weapon. If the student is not charged as an adult, the matter would be handled in Family Court.

The incident was over at the school at 11:33 a.m., when police turned control of the building back to school officials. During the police sweep of the school, students were kept in the school and an information center was set up for parents several blocks away at the Blauvelt Sons of Italy lodge.

No other weapons were found during the sweep of the school.

Nulty said South Orangetown Schools Superintendent Ken Mitchell worked well with police Tuesday morning as the investigation began. Nulty said he and Mitchell met just last week to discuss preparation for incidents that could come with exam week, such as phoned-in bomb scares. Nutly said Tuesday that there did not appear to be any connection with this incident and the one June 9, 2009, in which parent Peter Cocker of Tappan – a former New York City police officer – with a gun confronted Mitchell in his office at South Orangetown Middle School.

Mitchell was able to disarm Cocker, whose gun was not loaded. Cocker has been sentenced to five years in prison for that incident.

Mitchell said lessons learned from last year paid off in Tuesday's incident.

He said that as word spread inside the school about a student with a weapon, a security officer called 911 to alert police and the school's principal, Karen Tesik, hit a "panic button" that is linked directly to the Orangetown Police Department. Mitchell said the panic button was installed as a result of last year's incident.

Mitchell said the school was "locked down" and Tesik made an announcment that the lock down was not a drill. As the school's 880 students and 100 staff members were in lock down, Mitchell said Tesik made follow up announcements to keep students and staff informed.

Additionally, e-mail alerts and voice mail alerts were sent to parents during the lockdown, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said that after the incident the Middle School staff was assessing the needs to provide any counseling to students upset by the gun scare. In looking back at the Tuesday morning incident, Mitchell said he thought it was another example of how violence in society is affecting children.

The superintendent said the incident is further evidence that parents need to be aware of how their children are spending their free time, know what they are doing and be familiar with their children's friends - and even the parents of their children's friends.

"Initially, I was shocked," Mitchell said of Tuesday's incident. "I did bring back a very unpleasant memory."

While the pellet gun incident reminded Mitchell of the 2009 incident at his office, Mitchell said the school district is much better prepared today than it was a year ago to deal with such incidents.

Mitchell said security arrangements have been improved at South Orangetown schools, however, the schools do not use security systems such as metal detectors and student's backpacks are not checked as they enter the buildings.

Police from area departments including Clarkstown, South Nyack-Grand View and the State Police, the FBI, the Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's office assisted Orangetown police. Nulty said the pellet gun carried by the student looks very similar to a real firearm used by law enforcement.