Hinesburg Community School students found a gun and a bag of unidentified “contraband” on campus Friday after a police chase in the area the day prior, school officials said.
The incident posed “no immediate threat,” and the school’s schedule was unaffected, the Pre-K-8 school’s two principals, Suzan Locke and Tim Trevithick, told community members in an email Sunday.
“As with any incident in our district, we will do a formal review of our practices, policies, and expectations,” the principals said.
The alarming discovery was tied to a police incident Thursday night near the school, at the intersection of Route 116 and Silver Street, according to law enforcement and school officials.
That night, the Hinesburg Police Department was pursuing a suspect in a vehicle who crashed at that intersection, officials said. After the crash, the suspect attempted to escape on foot and was later caught.
At around 10 a.m. Friday, a student found a gun near the school’s playground and brought it to a teacher. Students were brought back into the building from recess, and staff members called the Hinesburg Police Department. Officers took the gun and helped search the campus.
School officials and police “determined that there was no immediate threat; therefore, a schoolwide lockdown was not called,” the principals told community members in the email.
At about 11:30 a.m., school administrators learned that a student had found “what appeared to be a bag with an unidentified substance.” Police returned to the school and searched the campus again.
It was not clear whether officials had identified the substance in the bag. Bonnie Birdsall, a spokesperson for the Champlain Valley School District, referred a reporter to the Hinesburg Police Department.
Chief Anthony Cambridge could not immediately be reached by phone Monday, but school officials said they had been told that the contraband was related to the chase the previous night.
Hinesburg police do not appear to have publicly identified a suspect. In a Facebook post Saturday, the police department said that the crash and the discovery of the items at the school were both under investigation and that the department was “unable to release more information at this time.”
Police said they were working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We will say that the safety and well being of our schools, and of our community, are of utmost importance,” the department said on Facebook, “and we want to ensure everyone that we are taking all necessary actions, including a comprehensive search that our officers completed of the school grounds as well as surrounding areas.”
School officials said that the classes were on a regular schedule Monday and mental health counselors and clinicians were on hand.
