Safety Forum Addresses String of Weapon-Related Scares at Waterbury Schools

Parents demanded beefed up security and voiced their concerns after a recent series of weapon-related issues at schools in Waterbury.

“I just think one incident is more than enough and we just have to protect our children,” said Dannysa Bien-Aime of Waterbury.

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Parents showed up for a Safety and Security Forum at Crosby High School where officials detailed the resources available and responses to concerning situations.

Just last week, police investigated a report a student had a weapon at Crosby. While no weapon was found, officers say two parents were arrested while trespassing at the school while it was in lockdown.

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“So having people breach the school and come in that are not part of the process, not only is dangerous to them, it’s dangerous to the officers, dangerous to the students, dangerous to the whole school community,” said Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo.

The superintendent says an untrue social media post had prompted a frenzy of parents to rush to the school. That’s why she urges families to get trusted information straight from the district.

“Even though it is a scary situation especially the unknown of an investigation in a lockdown to rely on the messaging we put our on ParentSquare and not the various social media sites that may not know the actuality of the situation,” said Dr. Verna D. Ruffin, superintendent of Waterbury Schools.

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Back in April, police say they did find a gun in a student’s backpack at Crosby.

And then a day later at Kennedy High, officers say there was a report of a student with a weapon, though no weapon was ever found.

All of it has some parents believing more needs to be done for security.

“Something has to be done because it’s not the first time, it’s not the first school. It happens around the country,” said Trivet Lawrence of Waterbury.

The superintendent says there is no one solution to this and points out there are shortcomings with metal detectors like people sneaking others in another door.

And when it comes to changing troubled students, she believes counseling and other programs are more beneficial than suspensions or arrests.