Yesterday, on November 14, the Hancock Central School District held a pre-scheduled lockdown drill in cooperation with the Hancock Police Department. Unrelated to that drill, an investigation concluded involving a middle school student who was accused of bringing a pocketknife into the school.

Following a comprehensive investigation, a single bladed pocketknife was recovered, the student has been suspended, and we are working with local law enforcement to pursue consequences to the fullest extent permitted.

The District would like to make it clear that the weapon recovered was a single blade pocketknife, and that weapon was immediately taken into the possession of District officials.

Rumors are widely circulating that a firearm was possessed and brought onto school property by the child. Working with the Hancock Police Department, the District can definitively confirm the child did not possess a firearm on school property.

We will continue to work closely with the Hancock Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.

The safety of our staff and students is our number one priority.