Burlington High School students raise safety concerns – NBC Boston

Two recent incidents have rocked the school community in Burlington, Massachusetts, prompting high school students to contact the Burlington School Committee on Tuesday.

The first incident occurred on Friday morning when two girls were threatened with a knife during art class.

“The person with the knife came into the classroom and threatened my sister with it,” said Joicee, who did not want to give her last name because it would identify her sister. “Directly stabbing her and her friend was not a general threat to the classroom.”

The knife was confiscated and the student was expelled from school, but classmates say the school district downplayed the incident.

“The administration simply told us, the students and the parents, that the knife had only been sighted without making clear the seriousness of the situation,” said high school senior Jack Carey.

On Tuesday, a panic button malfunctioned, prompting armed police to rush to the school.

But Friday's knife incident caused additional stress for the students, who did not immediately realize that it was a false alarm.

“I and several classmates had guns pointed at them,” Carey said. “It was definitely a very, very high-tension situation.”

In both Friday's and Tuesday's incidents, students told the school committee that it took too long for the school community to figure out exactly what was going on.

“We all deeply regret that all these incidents happened and frightened people,” said school board chair Christine Monaco. “Fortunately, no one was injured.”

A special safety meeting will be held at Burlington High School on October 9th at 7 p.m. to address some of these concerns.

School officials say they are not allowed to release any further information about Friday's stabbing incident because it involved a minor.