Local law enforcement issued an “all clear” after a gunfire investigation near Carrboro High School Tuesday, which had caused the campus and nearby schools to raise their level of security. Carrboro Police later charged two teenagers for their role in the incident.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools issued an alert at 1:37 p.m. saying it was exiting “secure mode” at Carrboro High, Culbreth Middle School and Franklin Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary School and returning to as normal operations as possible.
In its own release Tuesday afternoon, the Carrboro Police Department said it was charging a 16-year-old Carrboro High School student and a 17-year-old juvenile over the incident. Police’s investigation found the shooting happened in the woods next to 180 BPW Club Road, which is the address of the Trinity at the Hill apartment community. The pair of teenagers face a felony possession of a handgun with an altered serial number and misdemeanor possession of a handgun by a minor.
As Carrboro Police said in a separate alert at 1:20 p.m., there are no reports of injuries stemming from the initial gunfire nor law enforcement’s response.
The school district said Carrboro High School students would be dismissed at their usual time of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, as would Culbreth and Franklin Porter Graham students.
“We know this has been an upsetting experience,” wrote CHCCS Chief Communications Officer Andy Jenks in the district update. “Carrboro High School families who are interested in picking up their student today may do so by using the normal student check-out procedures.”
CHCCS shared an initial alert to the community at 12:22 p.m. saying the high school was locking its doors after bringing all students and staff indoors while local police investigate the gunfire, along the lines of its lockdown protocol. An update at 12:47 p.m. shared that Carrboro High had since moved to “secure mode” alongside Culbreth Middle and Franklin Porter Graham Elementary. At the time, the school district described the scene as a “developing situation,” but also said local police reported “there is no evidence that anyone at or with the school has been hurt.” CHCCS also encouraged community members to not visit the school or campus as police investigated.
CHCCS said the sound of gunfire caused some Carrboro High students to run away from school property, while others may have already left campus for lunch when the shots occurred. Any high school students who left the grounds and families were briefly staged at the Town of Carrboro Public Works facility off Smith Level Road until the campus was cleared.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ standard safety protocols on its website define a lockdown as the status where individual rooms are secured and occupants are both kept in place and encouraged to be quiet. That level comes after its “Secure” status, where all students and school personnel get inside and lock outside doors. The district also provides steps for parents and guardians in the event of an emergency, saying it will distribute details and instructions through its email/text/robocall system and social media when possible.
Carrboro Police thanked the Chapel Hill Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough Police Department for assisting in its departments response to Tuesday’s investigation. Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood also posted on the sheriff’s office’s social media crediting the local agencies partnerships to respond to potentially dangerous and layered situations like gunfire near or on a school campus.
“While I’m sure someone will have some reason to complain about how they were somehow inconvenienced by our multi-agency coordinated response, I could not be more proud of how seamlessly each agency worked together to make certain the students and teachers at the school were safe and that parents were informed as quickly as they could be that their kids were okay,” Blackwood wrote. “Each of these events are different and have their own set of complexities. Our agencies work together and train together, which has positioned us to respond together more effectively. The training takes time and costs money, and it’s worth every minute and every dollar. I appreciate the parents understanding and the cooperation of the students and teachers within the schools as these events unfold.”
Featured photo via the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district.
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