Gun prompts lockdown at Henderson school

Monday, Oct. 27, 2008 | 7:49 p.m.

Hank and Barbara Greenspun Junior High School was put into lockdown Monday just before students were released for the day after a parent with a gun got into a dispute with someone else in the school's parking lot, school police said.

Clark County School District Police Lt. Ken Young said the incident between two adults occurred around 2:15 p.m. — roughly the time children are dismissed from school. The lockdown lasted about 20 minutes, while other parents who came to pick up their children were made to wait.

A parent of a student was involved in an altercation with a man, Young said, though he declined to say whether it was an argument or fight. He would not say whether the man was also a parent.

The gun was not fired, and authorities remained unsure how the weapon caught the attention of another individual who reported the incident, Young said.

Susan Vitz, 44, of Henderson was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, Young said. School police recovered a .45 caliber handgun, he said.

Vitz was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $2,000 bail. Her first hearing was set for Wednesday.

Young praised school officials' handling of the situation.

"They went on lockdown, so there was not a massive release of students," Young said. "I couldn't have written it better as to how they responded."

Young said he did not know whether any students were outside the building at the time of the incident. However, some parents were present.

Principal Beth Howe said the school was on lockdown from 2:09 to 2:31 p.m., preventing students from leaving during regular dismissal time at 2:11 p.m. During lockdown, students are kept in their classrooms.

"We wanted to follow emergency procedures to ensure the safety of the students," she said.

Diana Budzinki learned of the incident after her eighth grade daughter sent her a text message as she pulled into the school parking lot. She said she had been unable to receive any information on what transpired.

"They're still investigating it," she said. "That's what they're telling people what happened. I have to go home and turn on the news and see what happened."

While noting that schools often go on lockdown as a precautionary measure, she still characterized the incident as a major concern.

Young warned parents not to bring personal problems onto school grounds.

"If you have a dispute, a school is not the place to resolve it, especially with a weapon," he said.

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or dave.clark@hbcpub.com.