SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – There is some clarity about an incident at South Tahoe Middle School (STMS) on Friday, March 14. There was no gun and there were no backpack(s) that the students involved refused to have searched.
The El Dorado County Probation Department contacted the South Tahoe Middle School administration via email at 10 a.m. Friday, letting them know they saw a photo of a student posing with a gun. Neither the school nor probation thought the student had a gun on campus, and that there was no threat, but they just wanted to have communication about the photo which was an old one.
Once STMS was notified they wanted to call the student into the office for a conversation. He was not at school, but soon after showed up and the administration met with him.
The student panicked and ran out of the office to his classroom, according to Lake Tahoe Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Todd Cutler. Once in the classroom, the young man in question contacted a friend and together they started to leave the room. As they attempted to leave to get away, they pushed an administrator.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) was called to the school right away. They met the two students as they ran from the classroom to Lyons Avenue and they were arrested for battery on a school employee. They were transferred to the Juvenile Treatment Center.
Neither student had a backpack with them at school, Cutler said. The SLTPD report also states no backpacks were found.
“All parents of the students in the classroom were contacted following the incident,” said STMS Principal Cindy Martinez.
“Our schools serve all, from all walks of life, and sometimes, just as in a community, people make the wrong decisions,” said Cutler.
There has since been follow-up with the school’s safety committee, probation, and law enforcement staff, and school administration to debrief and review policy.