Stratham School Locked Down After Student Brings in Loaded Gun

The Cooperative Middle School in Stratham was in lockdown Tuesday morning when a student brought in a loaded gun.

SAU 16 Superintendent Michael Morgan, in an email response to Exeter Patch, said Cooperative Middle School Principal Bill Furbush informed him around 8 a.m. that a student brought a loaded gun to school.

Morgan's public statement follows here:

"Stratham Police were immediately notified and Officer Mike Olivera and Chief John Scippa became directly involved.

The student was found very quickly and did acknowledge that he had the weapon in his locker. Once the weapon was located, the school was put into a lock down to determine if there were any other potential threats. Upon investigation, it was determined that the the student had no ill intent whatsoever but simply wanted to show a classmate that he had easy access to weapons. The weapon was confiscated and is in police custody.  

The student's name will not be released. School officials will follow all appropriate disciplinary procedures.

The Stratham Police will continue to investigate the matter for any matter beyond the jurisdiction of the school.

I am grateful to the school administrators and to the Stratham Police Department for their collaboration as well as for the speedy and professional way that this matter was handled to protect the safety and security of our students and staff."