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Colton-Pierrepont Central holds assembly and class talks after arrests of two for alleged gun toting on school grounds

Posted 3/20/13

COLTON – An assembly and class discussions were to be held at Colton-Pierrepont Central School today following the arrests of two teens who allegedly showed a gun on school grounds Monday. Sawyer …

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Colton-Pierrepont Central holds assembly and class talks after arrests of two for alleged gun toting on school grounds

Posted

COLTON – An assembly and class discussions were to be held at Colton-Pierrepont Central School today following the arrests of two teens who allegedly showed a gun on school grounds Monday.

Sawyer Pignona, 16, Postwood Road, Hannawa Falls, was jailed after his arrest at 8:45 p.m. Monday and was held on $10,000 bail. He has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony, and one count each of two misdemeanors, criminal possession of a weapon: intent to use, and second-degree menacing: weapon.

Connor I. Warden, 17, Potsdam, was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday and held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail on the felony charge of criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.

The assembly and class instructions “will be an opportunity to clarify what happened and what we can all learn from it,” said an announcement from school administration on the Colton-Pierrepont website.

The assembly was to be for students in grades 7 through 12, and administrators were to visit each elementary class to discuss the situation and field questions “in a small group and age appropriate manner,” the announcement said.

Counselors were to be on hand, and teachers were to guide students to appropriate resources.

State police received a report of a suspicious person at the school at 4:12 p.m. Monday.

“We had a suspicious vehicle in the north parking lot after school on Monday,” a statement on the school web site said.

“While exiting the property passenger in the vehicle waved an object out of the window that was later confirmed to be a gun.” A staff members and two lacrosse players practicing after school were in the parking lot at the time, the announcement said.

Officials brought students into the building and all doors were locked, and police arrived to secure the school. Parents were called to pick up students and after school activities were cancelled.

While police told officials arrests had been made and they believed the situation was under control, officials asked for additional police presence Tuesday “to restore the feeling of security and safety.”

“The CPCS community will come together and emerge from this incident as quickly and effectively as possible.”

“In light of this incident, we will convene the safety committee and review safety procedures to ensure the continued safety of our students,” a posting on the CPCS web site said.

Police told WWNY-tv the incident could be connected to an ongoing dispute between students at Colton-Pierrepont and Potsdam central schools.