Gun incident at Blackwell Elementary: "safety is our top concern”

The Blackwell community was rocked on April 2, a Wednesday night, when a statement was released on Facebook by Blackwell Public Schools describing an incident at Blackwell Elementary School where a juvenile student brought a gun to show their friend. 

In the statement released to the public, Superintendent Haskins informed parents that a report was made by a parent, the Blackwell Police Department was notified, and an investigation was conducted. 

“[Blackwell Police Department’s] investigation, in conjunction with the school’s, found that the student who brought the gun to school had no intention of harming anyone and only intended to show it to their friend.” 

“The gun was only shown to one student.” 

The statement continued: 

“The incident served as a sharp reminder of the importance of gun safety and the seriousness of bringing any firearm onto school premises.” 

Haskins, in the statement, emphasized the importance of education children on the risks associated with handling firearms and and rules against bringing them to school. 
The statement encouraged parents with questions or concerns to contact an administrator at Blackwell Elementary or himself as the school’s district office. 

Speaking with the Journal-Tribune the following morning, Haskins stated that “all the proper steps were taken”. 

“We were notified after school hours, and immediately our School Resource Officer was on it and spoke to school administrators at Blackwell Elementary,” said Haskins. 

Superintendent Haskins also stated that the Board of Education was notified and aware of the incident and investigation. 

“There is nothing good about what happened, I want to make that clear,” Haskins continued. 

“If the Blackwell Police had identified this as an immediate threat, it would have been dealt with as a threat.” 

Haskins stated that it is a parent or guardian's responsibility- and an adult’s responsibility in general- to keep firearms out of reach from children. 

“We were not notified of this until after school hours,” Haskins reiterated, “and we took action. We have action plans in place for events such as this, we run drills, we have our buildings secured.” 

Blackwell Chief of Police Jay Brewer also spoke to the Journal-Tribune, saying that there was only so much that they could legally say regarding the incident as it dealt with a minor.

“We got the call from the school,” Brewer said, “we went to the child’s house, spoke with the parents, and the gun was recovered. There was no intent there, as our investigation found, but we notified the District Attorney’s office and will follow their guidance on how to handle this situation.” 

Brian Hermanson is the Kay County District Attorney, to whom Brewer referred.

The event spread like wildfire across Facebook, with a post on Blackwell’s Community Talk page reaching over 100 comments from concerned parents, former teachers, and other members of the community with many asking why the school had published the news in a Facebook press release rather than sending statements home with kids among other concerns. 

“We did not want to take action until we had all the facts from the Police Department’s investigation,” Haskins said, “we also did not want to sit on it, we wanted to get it to as wide an audience as possible immediately. The Police Department had contacted us after their investigation, then the statement was posted to Facebook.” 

Haskins noted as well that not sending a note and opting for a platform where most parents were active, i.e. the BES closed Facebook group as well as the Blackwell Public Schools' official Facebook page, was a way to allow parents and guardians to determine how they wanted to address the matter with their children. 

"I'm aware that we have several kids in our district that struggle with various emotional issues such as anxiety. If we sent that note home, these kids would read it, they would be panicked, they would be terrified of coming to school. By getting this out to the public, by getting this out to the parents and guardians, this allows them to have that conversation- or not to have it- on their own terms, for them to determine how that conversation is started with these children"

Melissa Agee, BES Principal for 3rd - 5th Grade, replied to the Journal-Tribune’s request for comment, stating that the safety of BES students is the district’s top concern. 

“Our District Board Policy/ State Law is explicit on the discipline statute for a gun,” said Principal Agee. 

“We followed policy on the day of the incident.  The BES handbook reflects a statement under Gun-Free Schools and Prohibition of Dangerous Weapons-  We followed this discipline policy outlined by the State Law, Board policy and reflected in our handbook.” 

The Blackwell Elementary School’s 2024-2025 Student Handbook available on the BES website states the following regarding “Gun-Free Schools":

It is the policy of the Blackwell School District that any student who is determined to have brought a weapon (firearm) to a school under the jurisdiction of the School District shall be suspended out of school for a period of not less than one year.

To provide a safe environment for the students and staff of the Blackwell Public Schools, it is prohibited to be in the possession of a dangerous weapon and replicas or facsimiles of dangerous weapons. [...] students who violate this policy may be placed under emergency suspension from school, pending an investigation of the incident by the appropriate school or legal authorities.

"The discipline, name of the student, and the type of gun brought are all protected under confidentiality," Agee concluded. 

Haskins can be reached at the Blackwell Public Schools' Board of Education at 363-7250. 

Site principals can be reached at Blackwell Elementary School at 363-0118