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October 15, 2007

Bullets found in vending machines; school searched

TIVERTON -- Two bullets were found in a pair of cafeteria vending machines at Tiverton Middle School today, prompting the police and school employees to impose an unprecendented lockdown of the building while searching for ammunition and weapons.

“There were two rounds of what appeared to be rifle ammunition. I’m not sure of the caliber,” said Deputy Chief Nicholas Maltais. “They were live rounds. They had not been fired.”

Supt. William Rearick said that a student found the first bullet in the part of the machine where items are dispensed. After he brought it to the attention of a teacher, a school administrator notified school resource officer Kenneth Cabral. Rearick said that a second bullet was found when administrators began searching the other vending machines.

After Cabral informed his supervisor of the situation, the police ordered that the building be locked down, Rearick said. Students were sent to their classrooms behind locked doors and the entrance doors to the building were secured, said Rearick.

“Obviously, our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of the students and the school employees so we took it very seriously and did a thorough search of the building,” Maltais said.

Officers arrived at the school around 11:30 a.m. Police and school administrators searched lockers and backpacks inside the lockers, Rearick said. Backpacks inside classrooms were searched by teachers, he said.

“No firearms or weapons of any type were found,” said Maltais, adding, “There were no threats made in association with this. We did not receive information that there was going to be harm to anyone.”

The police remained at the school until about 2 p.m.

When asked why someone would have placed the bullets in the vending machine, Rearick replied, “I couldn’t fathom.”

Maltais said it might have been a prank.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 3:38 PM | Permalink

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