Security system stops loaded gun from entering Monroe High School

ROCHESTER, N.Y – A loaded hand gun was found inside the bag of a student at Monroe High School in the city. Rochester police say the security system at the high school worked because it detected the gun before it got into the hallways and classrooms.

Every high school and middle school student walks through scanning device and their bags are x-rayed just like your bags at airport security.  

The gun was loaded with 12 rounds.

“School security worked exactly the way it’s designed,” said Lt. Greg Bello at RPD. “That firearm never got into school, it never became a risk to students in school today. And it worked as it’s supposed to.”

The 17-year-old student was arrested by police.

Brean: “So the student is 17. He’s considered a minor in the State of New York?”

Lt. Greg Bello, RPD: “Correct.”

That means the case will go to family court, not criminal court.

New York State law says bringing a gun into a school equals expulsion for at least a year, but the RCSD superintendent can reduce that on a case-by-case basis.

I went through the state’s school safety report from the 2019-2020 school year. City schools and suburban schools each reported finding 47 weapons. But in the city, 20 of them were found at security check points. In the suburbs, only 6 were found at security check points. The remainders were discovered a different way, although the state report does not indicate how.

“Is this a student carrying a gun because they’re in need of help because maybe people are out to get him or he feels that people are out to get him and he needs to protect himself?” asked Lt. Bello. “Or is this student the aggressor and we stopped a potential incident from happening, or school security stopped a potential incident from occurring today? And that’s part of where that investigation is going to lead.”

In the state safety report, Monroe High did not report finding one weapon.