Student brings BB gun to Xavier School of Excellence

A middle school student at Xavier School of Excellence in South Bend took an unloaded BB gun to school Thursday morning, according to school officials.

Officials said another student saw the gun in the student's backpack when he opened it and immediately reported seeing the BB gun.

The student was taken to the office and the BB gun was turned over to the South Bend Police.

School officials said no one was harmed. 

The school has a no tolerance policy for weapons and anything that resembles a weapon.

School administrators sent out a letter to parents:

Dear Xavier School of Excellence Families,

The mission of Xavier School of Excellence is to provide its students with a strong academic curriculum and broad cultural experiences in a supportive, innovative, and challenging environment that fosters academic success, good citizenship, and creates lifelong learners.  Like you, we want all students to learn in a caring and safe environment.  We strive to meet our mission daily.

I am disappointed to say that a middle school student brought an unloaded BB gun to school today.  Other students saw it when the child opened the backpack, and one of those students reported it immediately.  The student and the backpack were immediately escorted to the office by the Assistant Principal and me.  The proper authorities were notified, and the situation was handled in an expedient manner.

While I am thankful that no student or staff member was endangered at any time, I am still saddened that one of our students brought this to school today.  I am proud of the student who immediately reported this to an adult, and concerned that other students who also saw it chose not to report it.  

Sadly, we live in a society where we must be ever mindful of our surroundings, and schools are no different.  The school board, staff, and I do everything we can to keep our school safe.  To do this, we need all students to report to us if they see or hear anything that could bring harm to others.  Please discuss with your children how important it is to report things immediately.  And please check your child's backpack each day to make sure that your child does not bring anything to school that could be construed as a weapon. Let's all do everything possible to keep our children and schools safe.

Kind regards,

Tania Grimes, EdD
School Director