Elementary school student brought handgun, ammunition to school: Sheriff
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
(POWNAL, Vt.) — Police in Vermont are investigating after an elementary school student brought a firearm and dozens of rounds of ammunition to school, authorities said.
A student at Pownal Elementary in Pownal brought an unloaded 9 mm handgun and 67 rounds of ammunition to school on Wednesday, according to the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department.
The student “sent a message about it on social media,” and other students who saw the message reported it to their teachers “immediately,” the sheriff’s department said. The student was safely removed from the classroom and the firearm and ammunition taken from his backpack, the department said.
“Their quick thinking helped stop a bad situation before anyone got hurt,” Sheriff James Gulley said in a news release.
Two students notified Pownal Elementary School administrators that another student had indicated he was bringing a firearm to school, according to Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union Assistant Superintendent Laura Boudreau.
“The administration and campus safety officer met with the student, who admitted to having possession of the firearm in their backpack,” the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union said in a letter sent to the school’s families. “The student surrendered the firearm to the administration and campus safety officer.”
School administrators contacted Vermont State Police, who dispatched a member of the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, which is now investigating, the district said.
“At this time there is no indication that there are any further safety concerns to the school community,” the district’s letter stated.
Police did not release information on the age or grade of the student. The school enrolls students in kindergarten to sixth grade.
The district said no additional details will be released at this time amid the ongoing investigation.
Boudreau said they are “incredibly thankful” for the two students who came forward and “are proud of our administrators who followed our carefully researched and planned protocol.”
“Thank you to all of the law enforcement personnel involved in keeping our school community safe, including the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department who is handling this active investigation,” she said in a statement.
Gulley also commended the students.
“This is a reminder that if you see something concerning, say something,” he said. “The students who reported this situation helped protect their school and classmates.”
According to research from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 275 guns were brought to school by students under the age of 11 from fall 2017 to spring 2023.
“The majority of these incidents happened during the past two school years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023), which may indicate access to firearms among young people is increasing,” the organization said.
(WASHINGTON) — Two weeks after the Department of Justice, now under new leadership following Donald Trump’s reelection, moved to dismiss their appeal of Trump’s classified documents case, a circuit court formally dismissed the appeal of a case that once accused the president of mishandling some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets.
The dismissal marks the end of a series of federal criminal cases that once dogged Trump’s political future.
“Appellant’s ‘Unopposed Motion to Dismiss Appeal’ is GRANTED. This appeal is DISMISSED,” said the one-page order issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
Recently appointed Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Hayden O’Bryne moved to dismiss the appeal against Trump’s former co-defendants on Jan. 29.
Trump previously faced 40 criminal counts — including violations of nine separate federal laws — for allegedly holding on to classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021 and thwarting investigators’ efforts to retrieve the documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in 2023.
Trump, along with longtime aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago staffer Carlos De Oliveira, pleaded not guilty in a superseding indictment to allegedly attempting to delete surveillance footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Last summer, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who Trump appointed to the bench during his first term — dismissed the indictments against Trump, bucking decades of legal precedent by finding that special counsel Jack Smith had been unconstitutionally appointed.
Smith appealed Cannon’s decision but was ultimately forced to drop the appeal against Trump after Trump was reelected in November, due to a longstanding Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
After O’Bryne moved to dismiss the appeal against Nauta and De Oliveira last month, Tuesday’s dismissal closes the book on the case.
(NEW ORLEANS) — More cops than confetti are expected to be prevalent on parade routes when Mardi Gras goes into full swing in New Orleans this weekend.
City officials said security has been ramped up to historic levels in the wake of a New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others.
The annual Big Easy carnival has been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Special Event Assessment Rating 1, signifying the festivities require extensive federal interagency support, according to New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.
“This is one of the first moments in our history where Mardi Gras is a SEAR 1-rated event,” Cantrell said.
Mardi Gras is the third big test for New Orleans since the horrific Jan. 1 truck-ramming and shooting rampage on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter was allegedly carried out by a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran investigators say was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group.
A day after the attack, the city hosted the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game and on Feb. 11 it hosted the Super Bowl, both held at the Caesars Superdome under tight security that included hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officers.
“First of all, we know that we’re battle-tested and we’re just looking forward to a healthy and safe, and fun Mardi Gras season,” Cantrell said at a news conference on Thursday. “We’ve come off the heels of a successful Sugar Bowl, a successful Super Bowl and we’re now ready and prepared for the greatest freak show on Earth.”
Mardi Gras officially kicked off in the city on Jan. 6 and runs through Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras Day, on March 4. Between now and Fat Tuesday, about 40 parades are planned.
Banned from parade routes
Collin Arnold, New Orleans’ director of Homeland Security, said this year’s Mardi Gras will be noticeably different from previous years, as a number of items revelers usually bring to the multiple parades have been banned.
The New Orleans City Council recently approved a list of banned items, including confetti of any kind as well as confetti launchers; charcoal and gas barbecue grills; mylar balloons; portable generators; upholstered furniture; ladders over six feet high; and private drones.
The traditional throwing of beads will not be affected by the new security measures, officials said.
Revelers have also been warned not to leave coolers or ice chests unattended on the parade routes — a measure directly related to the terrorist attack. Investigators said the suspect allegedly packed improvised explosive devices in coolers he planted along Bourbon Street in advance of the rampage.
“Bring them if you have them. Keep them near you, but if you do see an unattended cooler and you’re getting that sense that there’s nobody there, please report that immediately to the NOPD’s non-emergency line,” Arnold said.
No coolers will be allowed in the French Quarter, officials said.
Mayor Cantrell said a makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack has been relocated for Mardi Gras from a Bourbon Street sidewalk to the Presbytere State Museum near the French Quarter’s Jackson Square.
“But I need you to know it is in coordination and with real reverence with the families and victims of Jan. 1,” Cantrell said.
‘100% all hands on deck’
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said another security measure being taken as a result of the attack is erecting hundreds of barricades on a nearly 3-mile stretch of St. Charles Avenue in the French Quarter, a major parade route.
The suspect in the New Year’s Day attack is alleged to have driven a rented pickup truck up on a sidewalk to get around a police car blocking Bourbon Street, according to investigators. The perpetrator proceeded to drive at high speed down the French Quarter thoroughfare, mowing down victims before he was killed in a gunfight with police officers, according to investigators.
Kirkpatrick said the barricades set up on the non-parade side of St. Charles Avenue will force vehicle traffic to take what she described as a “serpentine course” to get through the area.
“That will slow anybody down who thinks they’re going to use a vehicle as a weapon,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that 600 of the police department’s 900 officers working 12-hour shifts have been assigned to patrol the Mardi Gras parades. She said the remaining 300 officers will be on duty during Mardi Gras to service the rest of the city.
“We’re 100% all hands on deck,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that besides uniformed officers, 100 plainclothes officers will be embedded in the crowds.
She said K-9 units and bomb-sniffing dogs will also be deployed along parade routes. State National Guard troops are also being sent to New Orleans to help boost security.
“You’re going to see SWAT teams, you’re going to see Bearcats,” she said referring to armored vehicles.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said it is sending 200 deputies to help patrol Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Louisiana State Police said it will deploy another 150 troopers to New Orleans to enhance security in the Central Business District, on local highways and in the French Quarter.
Col. Robert Hodges, the state police superintendent, said the French Quarter has been designated as an “Enhanced Security Zone” requiring the most security. He said ice chests or coolers will not be allowed in the French Quarter and that any container larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches will be subject to searches.
‘Strong hotel occupancy’
The popularity of Mardi Gras does not seem to have been diminished by the terrorist attack, according to New Orleans hospitality officials.
“We’re expecting very strong hotel occupancy,” said Kelly Shultz, senior vice president of New Orleans & Company, formerly known as the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Shultz said Saturday night hotel occupancy for the second weekend of Mardi Gras was 95% compared to 83% during the same night last year.
Shultz said a Tulane University survey found that Mardi Gras alone generates about $900 million in economic revenue annually.
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(NOME, Alaska) — Crews in Nome, Alaska, are conducting search-and-rescue operations after a Bering Air caravan with 10 people aboard went missing, according to local authorities.
Bering Air Flight 445, a Cessna 208B, disappeared while flying from Unalakleet Airport to Nome Airport around 3:20 p.m. local time Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region said.
There were nine passengers and a pilot on board.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post it was conducting an active ground search but that, due to weather and visibility, its crews were unable to search by air.
A National Guard C-130 reported it found nothing found so far. The Air Force also sent a C-130 to resume the search and also reported no visuals, and have one hour of flight search time remaining, according to an update early Friday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board is aware of the reports and is monitoring situation, ABC News has learned.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
