Active Shooter Scare At Cape Tech Leaves Students, Staff Frightened

PLEASANT LAKE – A false alarm about an armed intruder sent students and staff members at Cape Tech fleeing for their lives last Friday morning.

There was no actual threat at the school.

“There was an area of the building where an alarm went off, which is now an investigation,” Superintendent of Schools Rob Sanborn said Friday afternoon. Because the investigation may lead to disciplinary action, Sanborn said he could not say how the armed intruder system became activated.

“But it was a pretty harrowing experience for staff and students,” he said. “It was quickly realized that it was not an active shooter situation, however people had already left the building, run into the woods and things of that nature.” While the threat was not genuine, “there were people who genuinely thought that it was,” Sanborn said.

Accounts provided to The Chronicle by several students and family members paint a chaotic picture. When the alert was activated at around 8:45 a.m., some students headed for the exits, and others waited for instruction from teachers. Students in the gymnasium exited to find that irrigation ditches were being installed just outside, and they had to scramble over them to get away from the building.

“It was terrifying. Kids were crying, screaming, falling, tripping, stampeding. Kids running down the stairs, boys carrying girls, kids carrying their friends on crutches,” one student related. “It was the scariest thing that had ever happened.”

Another student said her teacher consulted with the teacher in the next room before telling students to run outside.

“I continued running, going up the hill while hearing other students saying that they saw people on the floor and hearing a police siren into the distance, which only fueled our panic. It was total chaos outside, as I ran down the hill I saw people pushing each other, people tripping, some people even twisted their ankle. I ran through the twigs and jumped the branches and ran to the woods,” she said. “A teacher yelled that everything was OK and that it was only a false alarm but the impact was still there.”

At their request, The Chronicle is withholding the names of the students who shared their accounts.

For security reasons, Sanborn would not detail the protocols that take place when the armed intruder system is activated, but he said the Harwich Police were immediately notified, as was the school resource officer.

“They were intimately involved in the response and in our meetings afterward,” he said. School officials, not police, are leading the investigation.

The vocational school took steps to support rattled students and staff. Immediately after students returned to the building, school officials encouraged them to use their phones to update their parents. Administrators also went classroom to classroom to ensure students and staff knew what had happened.

“We had counselors available all day,” Sanborn said. Students were fed lunch and then classes were dismissed early at around 1:30 p.m. The school notified parents of the incident, and Principal William Terranova was expected to host a virtual meeting with parents Monday morning.

The school regularly drills its active shooter protocol, Sanborn said.

“It didn’t function to its fullest,” he said. The problem was related to the alarm system rather than the students’ and staff’s response to the alert, and the alarm system vendor has been contacted, Sanborn said. As of Friday afternoon, the system appeared to be fully functional.

“I’m proud of our staff and students, and I apologize that they went through it,” Sanborn said. “But when they felt it was a real threat, they acted appropriately.”

Students generally praised the actions of staff members and Terranova during the incident.

Parent Kim Devine said her son, who was present at the time, was impressed by the quick actions of staff.

“As a parent, I appreciated the administration’s frequent communications (phone, text, email) to parents/caretakers. I had already received Principal Terranova’s initial communication when my son called,” she said. “I applaud the administration and staff for their leadership during what I imagine was a chaotic and challenging time.”

**This article has been updated.