Hillman Area Schools placed in secure mode after students talk of knife

Hillman — Schools went into ‘secure mode’ Wednesday morning after a student overheard the word ‘knife’ in a conversation with a group of students.

The situation unfolded at the elementary school just after breakfast. The student that heard ‘knife’ alerted staff and they made the executive decision to place both schools into a ‘secure mode.’ School staff searched lockers and made sure all students were accounted for. The students who were overheard talking about a ‘knife’ were sent to the office for questioning.

Hillman Superintendent Carl Seiter was not at the elementary at the time, but he learned of the incident and found out why the word knife was used.

“We had another student that has braces,” said Seiter. “He had brought a tool that opens up similar to a shaving blade with a hook on it to basically remove food debris.”

Once this information had come out to staff, classes resumed as normal. Superintendent Seiter was happy with the way students and staff responded.

“Is it serious? Is it not… you don’t have that luxury at that point,” said Seiter. “You always overreact and then you can pull back as the situation allows.”