South Bend police, schools investigate gunshots on district school bus
SOUTH BEND — Police and school officials are looking into a report that a gun was fired on a South Bend Community School Corporation school bus Tuesday afternoon.
According to Ashley O'Chap, a spokeswoman for the South Bend Police Department, officers were called out to the 400 block of Teri Street around 4:45 p.m. for reports of someone firing a gun on a school bus that was dropping off students from Jackson Middle School. Police say no one was injured.
After an initial investigation, detectives confirmed a juvenile fired one round while on the bus. That juvenile was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Justice Center.
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Jackson Middle School principal Niesha Phillips sent a letter to parents informing them of the incident, saying the school is "increasing our security measures [Wednesday], and will have heightened security at dismissal this afternoon."
District officials echoed Phillips' letter that the school bus driver "followed all procedures to keep our students safe," but did not say what those procedures entailed.
Tuesday's incident marks the second time this school year a gun was fired on or near a school bus dropping off South Bend students. On the first day of classes in mid-August, a South Bend high schooler was arrested for firing at a group of fellow teenagers in the area of Bull and Huey streets shortly after the group was dropped off by the school bus.
No one was injured during that incident either. When asked if there is concern about the two recents incidents involving firearms around school buses, Erin Wagler, the district's director of communications, said "We are always trying to improve our safety measures."
"The safety of our students is our top priority," she added in an additional written statement. "We are continually reassessing our safety measures to strengthen security and ensure the wellbeing of our students and staff. We thank the transportation and school teams for following safety protocols in this incident. We are also grateful to our School Resource Officers and the South Bend Police Department for partnering with us."
Email Tribune staff writer Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend police, schools investigate gunshots on district school bus
