Student’s basketball moves prompted lockdown at Hamden High, police say

Hamden High School was put on lockdown for about an hour Thursday as police investigated a reported altercation there. Police found the incident had actually been a student pretending to dunk a basketball in a hallway. less Hamden High School was put on lockdown for about an hour Thursday as police investigated a reported altercation there. Police found the incident had actually been a student pretending to dunk a basketball in a ... more Photo: Wes Duplantier — The New Haven Register Photo: Wes Duplantier — The New Haven Register Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Student’s basketball moves prompted lockdown at Hamden High, police say 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

HAMDEN >> Hamden High School was on lockdown for about an hour Thursday morning after a staff member thought a student was raising his fist to punch her.

The student had actually been running in a hallway, “making basketball-type moves” and pretending that he was dunking a basketball, police Capt. Ronald Smith said later Thursday.

Smith said the school’s principal went to Officer Mark Atwater at about 7 a.m. Thursday and told him an altercation had occurred in the school. The principal said the school was on “lockdown” and that the person responsible was inside the school, Smith said.

The staff member reportedly told police she had been walking in a maintenance hallway when she heard someone running toward her. She then saw a boy, who she said “raised his fist” as if to punch her, Smith said.

The woman hurried away from the boy and told her co-workers about the incident.

The incident took place at about 6:45 a.m., before most students and staff arrived, Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said. A staff member was walking down a hall when a student made what the staff members thought was a threatening motion, he said.

“The person who reported it felt threatened and reported it as such, and we responded to that,” Goeler said.

Students were held on buses and taken to a nearby middle school while authorities investigated. “Because it was so cold, we didn’t want students waiting outside, so we had them transported to the middle school,” Goeler said. Students who walk to school also were put on buses in order to stay warm, Goeler said.

Ultimately, as it was determined that the student was just play acting dunking a basketball into a hoop, Goeler said, there was no violent intention to the action. But before that could be determined, the staff reacted as it would to a threat, directing school buses transporting students to the school be redirected to Hamden Middle School down the street on Dixwell Avenue, Goeler said.

Hamden police responded to the school and worked with the School Resource Officer and the staff to determine what had happened, Goeler said.

“They discovered the student wasn’t intending any harm and he wasn’t aware how he was perceived by person walking behind him,” Goeler said. “He was just being a 12th grade student maneuvering like he was playing basketball, simulating dunking a ball. The person who reported it was concerned and wasn’t aware what he was doing, so she reported what she perceived happened.”

Police found the boy at about 7:45 a.m., according to emergency radio reports. The lockdown was lifted a few minutes later after police found out about the basketball moves.

By 9 a.m. the students were all back at the school and in class, Goeler said, and the day proceeded as normal without any other incidents. The student was not reprimanded and will not suffer any punitive measures, Goeler said.

In its statement Thursday, the district thanked students, staff and the community for its response.

“Hamden Public Schools has safety procedures and protocols in place to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” the statement said. “While there was a disruption to the beginning of the school day, thankfully, this incident turned out to be a misunderstanding and we are happy to report that no one was ever in any danger.”