11-16-2023 1:11am

Pittsfield Police Investigating BB Gun Allegation at Saline High School

Pittsfield Police are investigating allegations that a student caught with a BB gun at Saline High School Tuesday allegedly pointed the gun at a fellow student.

Saline Area Schools administration reported Tuesday that students reported another student had a BB gun in his backpack. The district reported hat the BB gun was confiscated and there was no threat to the school community.

A little later in the day, a parent took to social media and said his son told him the student pointed the BB gun at him.

"We have been notified that there are allegations that the BB gun was allegedly pointed at a student. While there were no reports that the BB gun was pointed at another student during the initial investigation, school officials and Pittsfield Township Police Department are investigating those allegations today," Matt Harshberger, Director of Pittsfield Public Safety, said Wednesday.

Brett Pollington, who made the allegations in the Saline Posts Facebook group Tuesday, added more detail and lightened his criticism of the school district's response in a post Wednesday. Pollington said the BB gun was pointed at his son in a locker room because he had reported the student's possession of the weapon.

On Tuesday, Pollington was critical of the school officials for not including the allegation about the gun-pointing in their outreach to Saline High School School parents. But Wednesday, he said he'd learned more and believed school officials were handling the situation appropriately.

"The new information I learned today is that my son had not told the Administrators when he reported the gun that it had been pointed at him out of fear that the kid who pointed the gun would retaliate against him. He withheld that information from me unfortunately. I met with the assistant principal and a resource officer at the school, and based on our meeting, I feel now that the school is handling the situation appropriately. I really appreciate all of your input and support yesterday and today through this very stressful situation," Pollington wrote.

He remains concerned that the district didn't reach out to him sooner.

Saline Area Schools released a new statement to parents Tuesday:

Message being sent to SHS community 11/15/23:
In our continuing effort to keep our school community informed, we wanted to provide an update on the situation at Saline High School yesterday. Two students reported to an administrator during lunch that a student had a gun. While the reporting student said they did not see the gun, they said a group message had been circulating and identified the student. The student with the gun was immediately questioned and the BB gun was located, confiscated, and guardians were notified.
We have been notified that there are allegations that the BB gun was allegedly pointed at a student. While there were no reports that the BB gun was pointed at another student during the initial investigation, school officials and local law enforcement are investigating those allegations today.
Message that went to SHS Community 11/14/23:
In an effort to keep our school community informed, this afternoon, Saline High School administrators, working in conjunction with the School Resource Officer, confiscated a BB gun from a student backpack and the student is no longer on campus. There is no threat to our school community. We thank the students who reported it and want to remind the community, that if you see something, please continue to say something.