Bullet casing found at North Allegheny Intermediate High School in McCandless

Editor’s note: This story is updated with comment from School Resource Officer Mike Metzger

A student found a bullet casing at the North Allegheny Intermediate School in McCandless on Monday, Sept. 25, officials said, however authorities determined there was no immediate threat to students or the school.

After McCandless police and School Resource Officer Mike Metzger walked the grounds, they found nothing “nefarious,” Metzger said.

Principal Dr. Heather Hibner notified NAI parents by email on Monday that at approximately 11 a.m., a student found an empty bullet casing with no tip on the auditorium floor.

The student immediately took the casing to the supervising teacher, who then notified Metzger, who immediately notified Hibner and McCandless police.

Metzger said the empty .22 brass shell casing was very small, so it could’ve been on the auditorium floor for some time. Metzger said two weeks of video footage was reviewed of the area, and no one was seen placing the casing there or anything out of the ordinary.

Metzger and police at McCandless also reviewed custodians cleaning the area, which was just “spot cleaning” and not heavy cleaning.

“It could’ve been there for a while,” he said.

If authorities do find whoever dropped it, the shell casing is not considered ammunition, so there would be no criminal charge. Metzger said someone could’ve gone hunting and saved the casing as a souvenir, then dropped it.

No more investigation is deemed necessary at this time, he said.

NASD participates in Safe2Say Something, which is a school safety tool for students, staff, and communities to anonymously report unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities in a school entity or the threat of activities in a school entity.