Bullet discovery closes high school early

Franklin — Local school officials and authorities know little more about the source of a bullet that forced Franklin High School to close early this week.

As of NOW's deadline Tuesday, the incident had played itself out and students were back in classes.

Students at Franklin High School were sent home early Monday after a .22-caliber bullet was found in a hallway. In addition, all after-school activities and sports practices were cancelled.

Police helped administrators and staff members empty the building room by room so they could safely search for additional items that could potentially be dangerous. That search turned up no additional items.

Franklin School District Superintendent Steve Patz ordered the early closing, as opposed to being evacuated, to ensure the safety of staff and students. The early closure began at 12:06 p.m. and ended when all students had left the building at about 2:30 p.m.

Parents began receiving automated telephone messages at 12:15 p.m. Monday afternoon telling them the school was being evacuated for their children's safety. Parents were also told they could pick up their children in the parking lot or would be able to call or text them.

A second automated message sent at 12:33 p.m. told parents that the building was being evacuated classroom by classroom, according to the parent of a senior student.

During the school's closure, school district administration called in bus transportation for the students, had students exit the building upon the arrival of their transportation and had the bus transportation deliver the students home.

The bullet was found by a staff member in a hallway on the north end of the main school building and was lying on the floor.

Patz said no staff or students were in danger.

"We did have the students on initial lockdown then started sending them home. We then did a sweep of the building and checked all the lockers and garbage cans - anywhere we could to make sure everything was safe," he said.

He added that there were no injuries and that he was impressed at the response to finding the bullet.

"The students and staff worked together extremely well and the administration was really well organized in getting the students into a safe situation, which is our main concern."

There's little more officials could say Tuesday.

"We have no information regarding who may have placed the bullet there," Patz said. "It was an unfortunate situation, but was handled in a way that kept our students safe."