Britton students reprimanded for setting off small explosive
Morgan Hill – Three Britton Middle School students set off a M-80 explosive Thursday afternoon on the campus, but no one was injured, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Jerry Neumayer.
“It was near the end of lunch, there were some kids playing around on the asphalt, and they let off an M-80,” he said. “School administration said they spoke to about 50 kids, then when the school resource officer arrived, they had narrowed it down to 10. He spoke to those kids, and they cooperated, and narrowed it down to three students.”
The school was not locked down, and the discipline of the three students will be “handled administratively at the school,” Neumayer said.
A true M-80 is a low level military explosive filled with about 3 grams of flash powder and used as a “gun fire” stimulator by soldiers, according to www.fireworksisland.com. The explosives were specifically made illegal by the Child Protection Act of 1966, but it is unclear if the incident at the school involved an authentic M-80. There was no damage to the school.
Britton Principal Russom Mesfun said he was pleased with the way the school community responded to the situation.
“On several levels I am impressed with the response,” he said Friday. “The part that should be most important to the community in general is the way our students responded to what they felt towards a disruptive and unsafe practice by their own students. I was impressed with the number of students that came forward, that called me on the phone and e-mailed me, even last night. I am very, very proud of our students, that they are aware that this is not acceptable.”
Mesfun said he was pleased also with the way his staff handled the situation and the response by police.
The identities of the three students will not be released, he said, and he declined to comment on the nature of their punishment.
“We have conducted an investigation, we have established the students responsible, and we intend to take action, but I am not willing to disclose what action we will take.”
Mesfun did say the School District’s new voice messaging system allowed him to reach many parents to inform them of the event. The school also sent home letters with students and sent e-mails to all families on the school’s e-mail list.
“We were able to quickly and efficiently let parents know that our school is safe,” he said. “Many parents today expressed relief, said thank you, that they were able to see that we responded to what was an unpleasant situation.”
The three students recognize that what they did was wrong, Mesfun said.
