Authorities: Teacher calmed teen who held classmates hostage

August 25 – a 14 year old boy was taken into custody with the charge of holding 29 students and their teacher hostage at Philip Barbour High School from Philippi, West Virginia.

The student, who has not been identified, was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said Tuesday that students were safe and were waiting outside the school to be removed from the property on buses. Alerted by those students, another teacher told school administrators, who then called 911.

One police officer said that the negotiations worked very smoothly and that the boy agreed to release the teacher and all of the students, after which he surrendered without giving rise to any further problems.

There were no reports of injuries, police said. The school could not be immediately reached by phone. While the school will open on schedule, classes will commence after two hours, he added. Students in other classrooms were evacuated to the school’s football field and released. The father was upset that the police and school administration didn’t inform their parents while the assailant was still in school.

Baylous says the suspect was believed to have a gun and was isolated inside the school.

Baylous thanked parents of students for keeping their composure during the frightening ordeal.

West Virginia State Police say a suspect has been arrested after a report of someone with a gun inside a high school.

A school official speaks with parents of children from Philip Barbour High School after the school was evacuated and placed on lockdown.

The incident happened in the small town of Philippi, home to about 3,000 residents and located about 115 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pa. Authorities said the episode began after 1 p.m. and police had the situation under control by about 3:30 p.m.