Glens Falls High School Student Engages in Altercation with Staff

The first day of class at Glens Falls High School yesterday was shaken up by an altercation between a student and school personnel.

According to the school, at approximately 11:20 a.m. the student was getting lunch in the cafeteria when a staff member ordered him twice to leave the building. It is currently unknown what prompted this initial command. As the student exited the building he damaged school equipment, and was subsequently directed to vacate the campus entirely.

The student then walked around the building to a locked side entrance, and knocked at the door until another unknowing student let him in. Upon re-entering the building, the student put on a face mask before instigating an altercation with a hall monitor and the school’s principal.

During the altercation, a BB gun fell out of the student’s backpack and onto the floor. The school’s resource officer then called the Glens Falls Police Department to report the incident, and requested assistance in removing the student from the campus. 

A lockout was issued by the school as soon as the conflict began. The adjoining district middle school entered a shelter-in-place procedure at the same time. Most of the high school’s students remained outside the building until the situation was resolved. At 11:51 a.m., the lockout and shelter-in-place were both lifted, and students returned to their normal class schedules.

In accordance with the school district’s code of conduct, disciplinary action for the student is already underway.

In a statement on the school’s website, Superintendent Dr. Krislynn Dengler wrote that the incident “underscores the need for students and staff alike to maintain the security of external doors, which includes leaving them closed in their locked position at all times.” She also requested that parents have conversations at home with their children about keeping a secure environment at school.