On Wednesday, May 25, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the State Police was notified by the Macedon Police Department of a social media post by a student who attends the Gananda High School.

A student notified a teacher concerning a social media post, where a 17-year-old student posed with what appeared to be  some sort of Assault Weapon, with the words “Coming to School” over the photo. The  posting concerned district officials who immediately contacted law enforcement.

Troopers along with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department responded to the Gananda School and met with school officials and the Macedon Police Department.

The student was taken into custody at his residence and was interviewed in the presence of a parent. He was subsequently charged with Making a Terroristic Threat, a Class D Felony. The  weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that looked somewhat similar to an actual  assault weapon that reportedly belonged to the boy’s step-father.

In actuality, it was an older photo posted weeks ago, but with the recent Buffalo  supermarket and Texas elementary school shootings people became aware of the posting and began calling the school.

The student was also known to have made improper statements in the past.  He was arraigned and is scheduled to appear in Macedon Court.

The district was issued a Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order with Wayne County, which bans the suspect from school grounds and removes any weapons from his residence as well as access to weapons.  State Police Officials want to acknowledge the fast action of the Gananda School Superintendent, in notifying law enforcement immediately to ensure a speedy resolution to this matter.

The State Police want to ensure residents that this was an isolated incident, and more information will be released when it becomes available.

The Gananda District immediately also sent out an e-mail notice to school parents:

“Dear Gananda Families and Community Members:

With all of the senseless acts we have seen over the past week, it is even more important that we join together as a community to monitor, communicate, and help one another. Everyone in our buildings and within our community has a role to ensure the safety and security of our schools. Today’s events were an important reminder of this. 

The lockout this afternoon was precipitated by a social media post made by a student who attends Gananda high school. A 17-year old student posed with what appeared to be an assault weapon. We are unable to share additional details about the post at this time.     

This was brought to the attention of staff members from multiple individuals.   Upon learning of the post, district officials immediately contacted law enforcement. At that time, our local law authorities were alerted and came to the high school within minutes. Multiple agencies swiftly went into action and it was determined that out of an abundance of caution, all schools go into a lockout during a critical time in the investigation. This was to ensure the safety of our students and staff. The individual responsible for the threat was taken into custody and our New York State Troopers are continuing to investigate this matter further. As this is an active case, we cannot provide any additional comments on the situation. The State Police are the lead agency and we have been fully cooperating with them.  When the appropriate charges are filed they will release that information. This is an isolated incident, they have the individual in custody, and the NYS Troopers have assured us that there is no immediate danger to our schools or community.

We are no longer in a world where we can sit back on these threats or ignore them as jokes. We have to be diligent. We need everyone’s eyes and ears. If you see something, say something. You can use our e-mail tip line, SaySomething@gananda.org, to report anything that you feel would impact the safety of our students, staff, or community members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We monitor this e-mail and investigate any leads internally and with local law enforcement. Additionally, you can always call us at 315-986-3521 to report suspicious activity.

Thank you to the individuals that came forward today to share the information they saw, and thank you to our law enforcement agencies; Macedon Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Troopers for their support. It is the strong relationships that we have with our local law enforcement agencies that help us provide safe environments in our schools.

While today’s lock out situation surely did not help calm nerves with recent events, I can assure you that we are doing all that we can on a daily basis to keep our students and staff safe. Please join us for an open community forum next Tuesday, May 31 at 7:30pm at Ruben A. Cirillo High School to discuss this topic and provide some answers to your questions.  This event will be held both in person and live-streamed on our district Facebook page.

I ask that we continue to do our best in supporting each other and our students with acts of kindness and compassion. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Shawn Van Scoy, Ed.D.”