PHILIPPI, W.Va. – A 14-year-old boy, armed with a pistol, is responsible for a 2-hour hostage situation at Philip Barbour High School according to West Virginia State Police.
“Educators who were on scene, they did an awesome job of evacuating the facility per protocol. Law enforcement got on scene and contained the situation,” explained Capt. Dave Reider, West Virginia State Police Troop 3 Commander in Elkins.
Barbour County 911 operators were notified of a gunman in the school at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
School staff members were able to get the majority of students to the PBHS football field where they were accounted for before being dismissed on afternoon buses.
Police began negotiations with the teen who was holding several students and a teacher in a second floor classroom.
They were released uninjured.
“Subsequent to that, we were able to talk to the juvenile subject inside and had him surrender without incident,” Reider added.
Parents who arrived on scene were met with a closed Route 250 and a nerve-wracking wait.
“We had to secure the facility, make sure it was safe. Once we got them evacuated and could do that, we released the children to the parents. They were very cooperative and very patient. I can’t think them enough for that. These types of situations can often times become problematic if we don’t have that patience. Tragedy, today, was averted because of that,” determined Reider.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Barbour County Prosecuting Attorney Leckta Poling spoke briefly with reporters Tuesday evening.
“We are pursuing charges against the juvenile at this time. Those are closed proceedings. So there will not be any information released about that at this time,” she explained.
Paperwork was processed to have the teen detained following hospitalization.
Details on the weapon, how many students were held hostage and a motive are part of the continued investigation with West Virginia State Police, the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department and the Philippi Police Department.