Officers stand guard outside Kipps Elementary School
Kipps Elementary and Blacksburg High School were placed on lock-down Thursday afternoon following a report of an individual carrying a rifle near school grounds.
The alleged suspect was described as "white male with a stocky build" with "blue or black jacket, dark colored cap, possibly light in color trousers."
As a precaution, both schools were placed under what Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Brenda Drake called a "supervised release."
Parents weren notified via the schools' phone messenger service around 2:30 p.m. Additional information will be sent out tomorrow to parents via e-mail and letters taken home with students.
"We've been working hand in hand with Blacksburg Police Department," Drake said. "Student safety is our No. 1 priority."
Police from Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Virginia Tech and Montgomery County canvassed the area Thursday afternoon. No suspects have been identified.
To report activity regarding this suspect, call the Blacksburg Police Department at (540) 961-1150 or 911.
Last year, Blacksburg High School classes at Blacksburg Middle School were canceled on May 25 after a middle school student brought two hand guns and ammunition to the school.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 19 Comments Write a letter to the editor
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Take your guns, insert and sit.
We are fed up.
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Are you really that terrified of an inanimate object?
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How about terrified of the ignorance portrayed by the morons we're surrounded by daily, and their ownership of such powerful weapons.
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A gun won't make you any more dead than a hammer should someone decide to kill you. Your ignorance of these weapons is likely much more dangerous.
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"How about terrified of the ignorance portrayed by the morons we're surrounded by daily, and their ownership of such powerful weapons." I absolutely agree with this statement. An inanimate object controlled by the impulse of the person in possession. This inanimate object happens to be very powerful and is not something to compare to a HAMMER. Do you think you can barge into a classroom and commit mass murder with a hammer? More than likely, no.
If anyone has ignorance of these weapons, it is you and the people who decide to use them against innocent people.
It is not something to take lightly when it comes to public safety--especially in our school systems.
While I understand it is a hunting rifle, which is a lot different than a semi automatic weapon/handgun; it's still something that should be checked out if it's just someone walking along a busy street especially near schools...it's not in the middle of the woods with a bunch of deer. It's just not an appropriate setting for that sort of thing.
It's always better to take precautions than to look back and regret not doing anything if something were to have happened.
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Obvious troll is obvious.
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You're one of those helicopter moms aren't you?
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You're one of those helicopter moms aren't you?
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It's America and we live in a state where you can open carry. Who gives a crap? I'm sick of getting police alerts about hunters carrying rifles.
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Do you even know where kipps is located? There's certainly nowhere nearby to hunt.
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Could it be possible someone was walking to a neighbor's house to go hunting? or that the person carrying the rifle felt like carrying a rifle? Both are perfectly legal.
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Exactly.
People don't walk around with sealed closed handles of rum. It's perfectly legal. But, just as walking around by an elementary school in the middle of neighborhoods with a rifle, it is understood that you generally shouldn't do it - because it raises concern.
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Exactly.
People don't walk around with sealed closed handles of rum. It's perfectly legal. But, just as walking around by an elementary school in the middle of neighborhoods with a rifle, it is understood that you generally shouldn't do it - because it raises concern.
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...You would be the first person to complain if something did happen and you were not sent your courtesy email.
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You will care when you are all grown up and have a child
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I mean, legal or not, it is a little suspicious. Moreso than openly carrying a holstered handgun because the self-defense factor isn't usually a reason to tote around a rifle.
Not saying that he did anything wrong or illegal, but I'd probably raise an eyebrow.
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Exactly.
People don't walk around with sealed closed handles of rum. It's perfectly legal. But, just as walking around by an elementary school in the middle of neighborhoods with a rifle, it is understood that you generally shouldn't do it - because it raises concern.
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perhaps related to the "suspicious person in the Industrial Park area of South Main Street holding what appeared to be a rifle" of 1/19/2011?
http://www.police.vt.edu/VTPD_v2.1/alert.html#20110119
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Are they still going on about this in the news? That guy could be long gone in California by now. Yeah it's suspicious and odd but no one got hurt. Just keep better security and post a cop outside the school for now on.
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