Gunman Reportedly Takes Principal Hostage at Upstate New York High School
Tuesday, November 10, 2009


Print ShareThisA gunman reportedly took the principal hostage at an upstate New York high school Tuesday, but the students are safe, a town official said.

Police said that Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains, N.Y., was on lockdown because of an "incident" but they wouldn't elaborate. The gunman was reportedly negotiating with police, according to local media.

Dutchess County Sheriff's deputy T.J. Hanlon would say only that state and local authorities are on the scene and the campus has been locked down. He said the situation is "very fluid" but wouldn't immediately elaborate on what state and local police were investigating. Hanlon said police have surrounded the school.

Bill Moore, a resident of the area who lives a few miles away from the school, said he saw about 14 police cars drive by his home Tuesday morning beginning about 8:30 a.m.

"We've been counting them as they go by because normally for an accident you might have two or three cars," he told local reporters.

Pine Plains is about 90 miles north of New York City.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The hilarity of this line at the end of so sparse an article struck me for some reason.

Gunman holds principal hostage at school in N.Y. stateNovember 10, 2009 9:33 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- A gunman was holding a school principal hostage Tuesday at a school in Pine Plains, New York, about 90 miles north of New York City, police and the town supervisor told CNN.

Police have the gunman contained to a room at Stissing Mountain High School and are negotiating, said Pine Plains Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver.

Pulver said he believed the gunman is a parent.

It was not clear whether the principal was from the high school or middle school, which are in the same building.

Pulver said he first heard about the gunman around the time the school opened at 7:45 a.m. It is unclear how many people were in the school at the time, but he said around 600 people -- 500 children and 100 staff members -- are usually at the school.

The New York State Police were at the scene along with the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department SWAT team and members of the Pine Plains Police Department.

In all, Pulver said, about 100 police officers were at the scene.

A lone gunman surrendered Tuesday morning following a two-hour standoff after he walked into his old high school and took its principal hostage.

No one was injured in the hostage incident at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains, about 90 miles north of the city.

"He has given himself up," Pine Plains Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver told CNN. "There were no gunshots fired."

Pulver said the gunman, who was in his 40s, attended the Dutchess County high school during the 1980s. His motive
in the hostage-taking remained unclear.

The gunman and the principal were alone in a room during the standoff in the high school. About 500 students and 100 staffers were in the building.

The high school was swamped with police cars and helicopters flew overhead as authorities surrounded the building.



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The hilarity of this line at the end of so sparse an article struck me for some reason.