NYC schools near scene of Brooklyn subway shooting under shelter-in-place order
New York City public schools in and around Sunset Park, Brooklyn, are sheltering in place after the subway shooting on a northbound N train that wounded multiple people, according to the city Education Department.
Details on the shooting were still emerging Tuesday but law enforcement officials and witnesses said a man in an orange vest threw a smoke bomb on the train traveling to the 36th St. station and opened fire around 8:30 a.m., injuring at least 13 people. Police were still searching for the suspected shooter Tuesday afternoon.
DOE chancellor David Banks said “out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of our students we have placed all schools in the area in a shelter-in-place. We are working closely with NYPD and school leadership to ensure that every school has the supports they need as we work to ensure the safety of our school communities.”
Shelter-in-place orders typically mean that no one leaves the school and coming in is subject to additional security, but that students and teachers can move freely within the school. A DOE spokesman said students arriving at schools will still be allowed to enter.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many schools were instructed to shelter in, but the order reached schools in Park Slope and other nearby neighborhoods, as well as Sunset Park, parents and teachers said.
The DOE didn’t say exactly how many schools were ordered to shelter in, or when it would be lifted.
Several Sunset Park elementary school teachers said students were still largely unaware of the details of the incident.
