Woonsocket Middle School Student Arrested Over Friday's Lockdown

WOONSOCKET, RI — A Woonsocket Middle School student was arrested on Tuesday and referred to Family Court after police and school officials investigated her role in an incident that sent police to the Hamlet Avenue school last week. According to Det. Sgt. Matthew Ryan, the girl, who is 14, allegedly yelled, "Duck, everyone. There's a school shooter." She is being charged with Disorderly Conduct. Her name is not being released because she is a juvenile.

Dr. Patrick McGee, Woonsocket schools superintendent, said earlier the police were called to the Hamlet Avenue middle school Friday around 2 p.m. after a janitor found bullets (but no weapon) in a boys' bathroom. Around dismissal time, which is about 1:35 to 1:45 p.m., the juvenile who was arrested started yelling about a gun inside the school. She was outside the building at the time.

The school was put on lockdown, Dr. McGee said, while police looked for a weapon and an intruder. Although the students had already been dismissed and 90 percent had left, some teachers and pupils were still in classrooms for help with homework.

Officers found no weapons and no intruders. No one was injured.

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