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5.29.2008

long island school in lockdown over possible gun spotting

This email just popped into my In-Box, with the subject "Teen Asian Gunmen," describing a possible gun incident involving Asian students at Manhasset High School in Manhasset, Long Island. Nobody is too sure what's going on right now, but it seems that a student spotted two other students with a gun in the boy's bathroom:
But in the mean time, I thought I'd give you a heads up. One of my coworkers has a brother who's a senior at Manhasset High School in Manhasset, Long Island. Apparently, the school is currently on lockdown because a student found two Asian students in the bathroom with a hand gun. The students are currently locked in their classrooms until they can find the students in question. Apparently they have not been apprehended yet.
Nassau County police are on the scene and investigating. A quick Google search reveals a few postings on this message board about the incident, but it's not much. At least we know that no one has actually been hurt... yet.

Some more information here: Manhasset High School in lockdown. Everyone in the school is apparently on lock down, and no parents are being permitted to enter the building. It all seems to be based on one kid seeing "what seemed like a gun." Better safe than sorry, I guess.

Outside of this email, I'm not sure who's saying that the kids in the bathroom are Asian. There doesn't seem to be any specifics just yet, and I can't verify if this is indeed true. Good Lord, I hope not. But it's strange how the idea of Asian youth and guns now evokes a very specific reaction in our culture. More on this as it develops... (Thanks, Paul.)

UPDATE: The lockdown at Manhasset High School is over: Lockdown ends at Manhasset High School. Authorities searched the school, and and every student in grades 7-12 was apparently searched with a wand metal detector. Nothing, however, has been substantiated.

This morning, an eighth-grade boy went to school administrators when he saw three other older students—all male—talking together in the bathroom. One of them was holding what the eighth-grader thought was a gun. So was it really a gun? And were any or all of the kids involved Asian? No idea.