Manchester

Shocking video shows teen with airsoft gun at elementary school in Manchester

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Police have released shocking video of a teen bringing an airsoft gun to an elementary school in Manchester on Monday. Video from a Manchester police officer shows the arrest of a 17-year-old boy on the grounds of Verplanck Elementary School.

Police have released shocking video of a teenager bringing an airsoft gun to an elementary school in Manchester on Monday.

Bodycam footage from a Manchester police officer shows the arrest of a 17-year-old young man on the grounds of Verplanck Elementary School. It’s a situation that police say could have ended much differently.

Officers were called in for a person holding what appeared to be a rifle in the playground. Surveillance video shows a staff member rushing students inside after spotting a person, who appeared to be dressed in black.

Police say the teen pointed the weapon, which turned out to be an airsoft gun, at 29 children and 10 adults.

“I don’t know what was going through their head or why they would do something like that,” Lino Ortega, a parent, said.

He watched the surveillance video in disbelief.

“Something that every parent would never, never want their child to go through,” Ortega said.

Ortega has a daughter in second grade at the school, and he's told her to pay attention during active shooter drills.

“When it’s time to be serious, you can’t play around. You’ve got to be quiet. You’re in a safe place and it’s for a reason they do those drills,” he said.

Another reason for those drills is for a peaceful end. The teenager told police he wanted to commit “suicide by cop,” but the responding officer was able to take control of the situation.

“He was very loud with his commands. He was very assertive. He remained calm the entire time,” Lt. Nick Reinert, public information officer for Manchester police, said.

Reinert said officers go through training year-round for moments like this, but also points out the quick thinking from school staff to get everyone inside.

“They went to a lockdown. Immediately notified the authority so everything that they did, they were trained to do, and they did a great job doing it,” Reinert said.

The Manchester superintendent put out a statement on social media thanking the work of police and school staff.

In a statement released Thursday, Superintendent Matt Geary said, "For safety reasons, school playgrounds are literally feet from the schools so when I was notified there was a person with what looked like a shotgun on the playground, I knew they were close to the building. That situation is every educator's worst nightmare."

Geary said he was alerted to another possible situation at Waddell School. As a result, every school in the Manchester school district was put on lockdown.

"While I am more than happy to get feedback on what we could do better, I want every member of our school community to understand that in that moment, our only priority is keeping our 6,200 students, including my own kids who are in these schools, and 1,700 staff members, out of harm's way," Geary said.

The superintendent said this was the first time in 10 years that he's had to lockdown all schools at the same time.

"I would like to again reiterate that the staff and students at Verplanck who were first impacted by this situation, and then everyone else in the district, along with Manchester police, did exactly what we are trained to do. It was shocking and scary and hard, but it is also why no one was injured," Geary said.

The school district is providing counseling and other services, including therapy dogs and adult support, to students and staff.

Ortega said he’s happy with the way everything turned out.

“I’m proud that everyone left home safely,” he said.

The teen who was arrested faces an extensive list of charges, more than 100 in all, including multiple counts of reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace and risk of injury.

His identity is not being released due to his age. The investigation remains ongoing.

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