Suspect in custody after report of gun at school

“Their ability to keep calm in this situation made it much easier for officers to successfully perform their duties, which resulted in positive conclusion to an incident which easily could have developed into a tragedy”, Baylous said. He then “put the gun down and surrendered to law enforcement without further incident”.

It was the ninth day of the new school year in Philippi, a town with a population of 3000 about 185km (115 miles) south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The single teacher, who has also not been named, has meanwhile since been praised as doing a “miraculous job” with maintaining order and keeping students from entering the room as they tried to change classes, Barbour County Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Woofter said.

“Then we all held hands and said a prayer”, she said.

The teenager was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and investigators would decide on the next course of action after he is released, the statement added. Poling said because the case involved a juvenile, the court process would be closed. Police haven’t identified the student. Saltis said “a lot” was going through his mind in the meantime.

“Omg I hear running on the 2nd floor…im freaking out”, one claimed student, @_mj_morris, tweeted amid a lockdown that led to students being evacuated to a football field. “The suspect has been isolated and law enforcement on the scene are now working toward taking the suspect into custody”.

“I think that’s the scariest I’ve been in a long time”, Saltis said later.

The incident apparently began around two this afternoon.

West Virginia State Police say they expect to release more information later Tuesday.