Greeting Gunston Families,

I wanted to provide an update about the lockdown that occurred yesterday.

It was brought to staff’s attention that there was a written message in a girl’s bathroom stall that said “I’m going to shoot up the school at 1:00 pm.”  The school was placed in lockdown.  We notified Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) and APS.

Students and staff acted immediately. The ACPD investigated and cleared the building, releasing students through two exits to buses that were parked on 28th street and to families that were waiting on the field.

We are collaborating with ACPD as we finalize the investigation of the situation. At this time,  there is not an active threat to the safety of students or staff. School will be in session on Monday, March 13th.

However, we do realize that this is a stressful event for students and families.  We will have our own counseling staff and additional support from APS to help students that need additional resources to process yesterday’s events.

Please tell your children to not stress about school work that may be due on Monday.  There will be grace and space to submit any assignments for next week.

I am grateful for the way students and staff responded yesterday. We take the safety of your children very seriously.

If you have questions for me or concerns about your children, please feel free to reach out to us.

HERE is the link the the ACPD police report.

Warmly,
Dr. Wiggins