News
Training helps staff and students respond to student who shot himself at school
Ironically that training earlier in the day, helped students and faculty respond amid fear and the scare that this might be an active shooter situation.
Thursday, May 5th 2022, 11:33 PM EDT
Updated:

Police and the Superintendent were still present at the school well into the evening.
21 News talked with them about the active shooter training that was taking place earlier in the morning and has details on the next steps in the investigation.
Shortly after 9:00 A.M. Lowellville Police wrapped up an active shooter training called Alice which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
Ironically about one hour later they would be back at the school, this time for real, the call going out around 10:17 A.M. that shots had been fired inside the school.
"I was back on the airwaves with dispatch telling them this is not a drill, this is not a drill. I have a lockdown and I need additional units here. And I got an immediate response from all departments in this area," said Chief of Lowellville PD Rick Alli.
Ironically that training earlier in the day, helped students and faculty respond amid fear and the scare that this might be an active shooter situation.
"With the administration, staff, and the police officers and surrounding communities here, you couldn't have written a better textbook on how to respond to a situation," Superintendent Gino Thomas said.
School districts and the Mahoning Educational Services Center have also reached out to offer assistance.
Superintendent Thomas tells 21 News grief counselors will be at the school Friday.
Students and staff should use the main entrance and they can meet with grief counselors in the Library. The cafeteria is off-limits for now as detectives continue their investigation.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family. At this time we are not releasing his name.
Police say a student shot himself in the cafeteria.
At this point in the investigation, Chief Alli tells 21 News they don't believe anyone else was at risk, but a continuing concern will be for the students who witnessed this.
There are numerous cameras inside and outside the Kindergarten through 12th-grade campus.
The police chief and Mahoning Sheriff's detectives were going through video on all cameras and angles to help piece together where the gun was stored prior to the shooting, and what happened.
"We're still looking to see where the gun came from, what his intentions were. We still have to interview a lot of students. We still have to get inside his friends' heads and find out what he was thinking," added Alli.
"We are going to interview and investigate and show some sympathy and empathy for students that were here during this tragic situation," emphasized Alli.
Chief Rick Alli tells us the Mahoning Sheriff's Office with more resources will assist in the investigation into who owned the handgun, how the student got access to the gun, and what friends know about his intentions.
At this time police have not released the students condition or if he survived.