Albany High safety incident leads to student arrest

Albany High School put lockdown procedures in place Thursday morning after a student drew a knife during a confrontation with another student. 

No one was injured during the incident. School security staff and the school’s Albany Police Department school resource officer responded immediately to end the confrontation before a fight began. 

It was determined after the incident that the second student also had a knife in their possession, though that weapon was not displayed during the brief confrontation before security personnel intervened. 

While responding to the incident, the school resource officer drew his gun as the student with the knife walked closely past him and continued to display the knife in a threatening manner. The student complied with the officer’s directives to put the knife down and was taken into custody without further incident.

Police charged the student with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. Albany High also will follow disciplinary procedures for both students in alignment with the Student Code of Conduct.

Our investigation has determined that both students passed through the school’s regular security procedures entering the building at the start of the school day. It was not immediately clear how the knives entered the building; the district’s safety team is continuing to investigate that aspect in cooperation with Albany police. 

The school had lockdown procedures in place from about 9:40 a.m.-10:20 a.m., and then a hold-in-place until returning to regular security procedures shortly after 11 a.m.

Albany High will have increased security measures in place Friday as a precaution.

If students would like to talk with an adult at school Friday about this incident, they can connect with their academy office to meet with a social worker or school counselor.