Collegiate Times

Blacksburg chief of police Kim Crannis stood guard outside the Blacksburg Middle School during the weapons threat Tuesday afternoon.

Blacksburg High School classes at Blacksburg Middle School were canceled on Tuesday night after a middle school student brought a gun to school.

Brenda Blackburn, Montgomery County schools superintendent, said that school officials were alerted that there was “potentially a weapon” inside BMS Tuesday afternoon.

Police apprehended a 13-year-old BMS student at 12:26 p.m. and took two hand guns and ammunition from the student.

That student has been charged with two counts of possession of weapons on school property and two counts of possession of firearms by a minor. The student is currently being held in the New River Valley Juvenile Detention Home.

High school classes are normally scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., after middle school classes end at 1:30 p.m.

Middle school classes ended normally and middle schoolers were sent home on buses. At the time of the incident, middle school students had just left school and high school students were arriving before their classes started. They were told to return home as soon as they arrived.

Students were evacuated from the building to the rear school bus parking lot. Those with cars were allowed to leave immediately; other students boarded buses around 2:30 p.m. The entire building was evacuated of both students and faculty by 3 p.m.

Faculty of BHS was not informed of the reason for the evacuation because they had not been in the building for very long, Blackburn said. A general announcement was made through the overhead speaker system that cited “safety concerns” as the reason for evacuation.

Blacksburg Police continued to search the building for the “possibility of additional weapons” after the school was evacuated, Lt. Joe Davis of the Blacksburg Police Department said. Three police dogs swept the school for any additional weapons or ammunition, but did not locate any.

School for middle school and high school students was in session as normal on Wednesday. All after-school activities for middle schoolers were canceled for Tuesday afternoon.

“No one was hurt, the police and school officials responded expeditiously, and I think we’ve had a good day,” Blackburn said.

Blacksburg High School students have been taking classes at Blacksburg Middle School ever since the high school gym collapsed on Feb. 13. High school classes run from 2 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the May 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.