Updated at 4:41 p.m.
Montpelier police are investigating a shooting incident that blew out the windshield of a school bus carrying students from U-32 Middle and High School Thursday afternoon, the police department said in a press release. There were no injuries reported.
According to police, the bus was stopped near the railroad tracks on East Montpelier Road (Route 2) when the windshield was hit by a single shot through the driver’s side window, which made contact with the windshield.
Police received a call at about 3:24 p.m. from the First Student bus service but when officers arrived at the scene, the driver had already moved the nine students to another bus to continue the route, and the damaged bus was back at the bus service’s headquarters. According to an updated release sent Friday afternoon, police said there was “a significant delay” before they were notified by the bus company.
The scene of the shooting incident is just over a mile from the school.
Police said three people were “detained and interviewed” after an investigation at the site following the incident, but no arrests have been made.
“The three individuals had several weapons on their person or near their person when they were approached by police,” the police department’s release stated. “A total of eight firearms were seized during the preliminary investigation.”
The three were camping at a site near where the bus was struck, according to police. A search warrant for a camper located at 5 Home Farm Way turned up one of the eight firearms.
On Thursday evening, the Montpelier Police Department confirmed that the object that shattered the windshield was a bullet, said Meagan Roy, the U-32 school superintendent in an email Friday morning.
Roy said that there is no further threat to the school or community and that the school reopened Friday as scheduled.
“We continue to be grateful that no one was injured on the bus; however, the incident was traumatic for all those involved,” Roy said. “This morning U-32 provided an opportunity for all students to debrief the incident and additional counseling resources will be available for those who need it.”
In a statement emailed Friday, First Student said the bus company takes the safety of their employees and students very seriously and that they are working with police.
“We are thankful no one was hurt in the incident and are proud of how our driver managed the situation,” the statement read.
Police said multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene of the bus shooting and that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is involved in the investigation.
