By Jewels Phraner

Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Thursday, January 31, 2013

Ligonier Township police were called to R.K. Mellon Elementary School this week because school officials said a student brought something “inappropriate” into the building.

There was no weapon or threat of a weapon, according to Chris Oldham, superintendent of Ligonier Valley School District.

“A student brought something inappropriate to school. It did not meet the definition of weapon under the Pennsylvania Public School Code,” she said. “No threats were made to students, staff or the building.”

She declined to release further details about the incident on Tuesday.

“We handled the disciplinary portion of the incident internally. Then we called the police, to make sure we handled everything appropriately,” Oldham said.

Ligonier Township police Chief Mike Matrunics said police were at the school Tuesday but confirmed there was no danger to students.

Oldham said she was disappointed about the spread of unfounded rumors on social media sites.

“I think it's incredibly irresponsible for adults in the community to use Facebook to spread outright lies,” she said. “It created unnecessary hysteria and caused a disruptive situation for our students and families.”

Oldham said the district will be conducting drills at all schools, including lockdown drills. The drills have been scheduled for some time and have no connection to Tuesday's incident, Oldham said.

Jewels Phraner is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-1218 or jphraner@tribweb.com.

1. Suspect surrenders in Penn Township foundry evacuation
2. Thunderstorm knocks out power
3. Mayor’s defeat may spell end of ‘Monessen Rising’
4. Murrysville contractor accused in $10,000 theft
5. Precincts fix omissions with paper ballots
6. 3-day waiver allows military couple to finally be married
7. South Huntingdon woman accused of stealing from employer
8. County schools among nation’s best
9. DeFazio’s win imperiled by lawsuit
10. Four appear to lock up positions on Norwin School Board
11. Bilik DeFazio leads race for Westmoreland County judge on both ballots

There are currently no comments for this story.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.