Report of shots fired causes Catskill school shelter in place

CATSKILL — The Catskill Central School District went into a shelter in place late Thursday morning following an unsubstantiated report of shots fired near the town line.

Police responded to a report of shots fired at about 11 a.m. on Route 9W near the border of Catskill and Athens, Greene County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Adam Brainard said.

“A neighbor made a 911 call reporting they heard him shooting rounds off,” Brainard said. “The allegation was unsubstantiated. We did not locate a weapon.”

One person was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital for a mental health evaluation following the investigation, Brainard said. A section of Route 9W was closed while the sheriff’s office, Catskill police and state police investigated the incident for over an hour.

“We had a large presence based off of the report,” he said. “We had to make sure the surrounding public was safe.”

The public or surrounding homes are not in danger, according to a statement from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office on its Facebook page.

Catskill police alerted Catskill school officials of the incident. The district entered shelter in place — where no one is permitted to enter or exit the building, Catskill Superintendent Ronel Cook said.

“The representative from the police department indicated that we were not in imminent danger, but as a precautionary measure, it would be best to go into shelter in place,” Cook said. “Our armed retired officers and BERT [Building Emergency Response Teams] on both campuses were activated. Parents and community members were notified via Facebook, Twitter, Blackboard messenger, email and text. A banner was also placed on our website.”

The shelter in place lasted about a half-hour, Cook said.

“Regular instruction and programming continued, but students, staff and visitors were not allowed to enter or exit the building,” Cook said. “We were contacted by the Catskill PD after they addressed the issue. The shelter in place was lifted and normal activities continued. Throughout the shelter in place, all students and staff were safe and sound.”

*Editor’s note: This story corrects an earlier version that incorrectly identified Catskill School’s BERT teams as Best Electronic Rover Technology.