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Crime & Safety

Greenwich HS Students React to Lockdown

Exodus of students follows schoolwide lockdown after a report that a student had a gun.

 

Greenwich High School junior Maria Babaev was taking a test for the military ROTC program in the media center when the rumors began to swirl and the police started to arrive.

Babaev, who was waiting at the bus stop to go home around noon Thursday, described having seen a SWAT team through the media center windows and police cars speeding down East Putnam Avenue. "That was before the lockdown. Then, it was crazy. The lady in the media center wouldn't tell us anything, but I could see she was panicky and shaky," Babaev said. “Afterward, the principal made an announcement saying to keep calm and that the SWAT team would go room to room to unlock the doors.”

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Police and town officials said a student called 911 and reported they believed a fellow student had a gun in the Hillside Road school at 10:34 a.m. Both the reporting student and the student believed to have had a gun were found by police. There weren't any guns found, police said.

“The principal made an announcement saying to keep calm and asked us not to go home...to keep it normal, but I thought of Newtown," Babaev said. "I know I could be walking down the hall by someone, or sitting in class next to someone. I could have been sitting next to someone like Adam Lanza. Just because it’s Greenwich and wealthy...” Babaev said with a shrug. “Last year (School Resource) Officer (Carlos) Franco came into our forensics class and talked about confiscating 17 guns from a kid’s house, so, no Greenwich is not safe.”

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According to Babaev, headmaster Chris Winters made two announcements. "In the second announcement, he told us there would be medical counseling available to anyone who was upset and wanted that."

According to senior Ava Salzer, who was headed home around 12:30 p.m. with her friend Samantha Stone, “The siren sounded throughout the building. The siren was just like during a practice drill. We knew what to do.”

Salzer and Stone estimated at least half the student body had gone home. “The student center is dead,” said Stone, who wasn’t sure if her tennis match after school would proceed or if she would get a “cut” for missing her social studies class. “I think that even if it turned out to be a hoax, kids should be able to go home,” said Salzer.

“When it was happening we were all texting each other and people were on Twitter,” said Stone. “One friend texted me saying it was a drill and I texted back saying, ‘No it’s not!’ And everyone’s Facebook status is ‘We’re with you GHS,’ or ‘We support you, GHS.’”

Four freshmen girls en route home said the rumors had swirled all morning about whether there was a gun or guns. “We heard it was a pistol. We heard it was a shotgun,” said one of the freshmen. “But the teachers wouldn’t tell us anything.” 

At noon a helicopter buzzed overhead and police and were stationed around the campus. At the main entrance, the three members of the Greenwich Board of Selectmen conferred with Winters. Security guard Chris Kralik said he was not authorized to comment at all.

The uniformed Milbrook security officer parked opposite GHS, described a scene around 11:30 a.m. when dozens of parents arrived to pick up students, forming a long queue of cars blocking an active lane of traffic on Putnam Avenue. until the police directed them to move on.

By midday much of the student body had left for the day. Senior Adam Genn was returning to GHS after lunch with friends at the nearby Corbo’s Deli. “When it happened I first thought it was a drill, but I could tell by how my my AP Economics teacher Mr. Jones acted that it was real," said Genn, who despite the seriousness of the lockdown, was dismissive about the exodus of students. “For a lot of kids it’s a day off. For me, personally, I’m going back.”

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