Delaware
Constable’s gun goes off in Delaware school for the 2nd time in about a month
Gov. John Carney discusses gun violence at his 2024 State of the State address
Carney highlighted efforts to fight gun violence, including passing red flag laws and preventing straw gun purchases.
For the second time in about a month, a constable’s gun has been fired accidentally in a Delaware school.
No one was injured in either incident. The first occurred Thursday, Nov. 7 at Stanton Middle School, while the most recent incident occurred Tuesday, Dec. 10 in the Milford School District. District officials did not say at which school the incident occurred in an announcement to families, and when asked, district spokesperson Patricia Gerken said she could not share that information.
The announcement, shared on the district’s Facebook page, said the accidental discharge occurred in a “private staff workroom” and “did not impact our instructional areas with access to staff and students.” There was no threat to the safety or security of anyone in the school, the announcement said.
“While we understand this is concerning, please be assured that our constable staff receive thorough and on-going certification and training regularly,” the announcement said. “We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate this incident thoroughly and to ensure all necessary safety measures are in place and followed with fidelity. This is an on-going personnel investigation and no additional details are able to be shared at this time.”
The district turned off comments on the Facebook post, but conversation about the incident was alive in local groups.
“If the district wants to be transparent then tell us the school and what’s going to be done about this mishandling of a firearm. Absolutely no excuse for this. Training is clearly lacking or they are getting super careless,” Megan McCarthy commented in “Milford DE Locals Group.”
In the incident at Stanton Middle School, the constable was in a school hallway and was “repositioning his holster” when his firearm discharged, Principal Matt Robinson said in an email to parents. Students were in class at the time and no one was injured.
Both Robinson and Milford’s Gerken declined to identify the type of firearm involved in the incidents.
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.