Independence police detain armed man at Blue Springs elementary school
An unknown man brought a gun into a Blue Springs elementary school Thursday morning, according to the Independence police department. No one was hurt.
Officers with the Independence Police Department were dispatched to Sunny Pointe Elementary, at 3920 NW R.D. Mize Rd, around 8:50 a.m., according to Detective Jack Taylor, an IPD spokesperson.
Police were sent to the elementary school after receiving a call about an ongoing domestic dispute, according to a letter sent to Sunny Pointe families and obtained by The Star. A passing resident allegedly saw a man entering the school with a gun and called the Independence Police Department, according to Taylor.
Officers detained the armed man in the school’s main office and took him into custody without “disturbance,” Taylor said. Both IPD and Blue Springs School District representatives have said that they do not believe the man caused a legitimate threat to the safety of anyone on school grounds.
“No threats were made to harm anyone at the school,” Taylor said in a Thursday morning news release. “At this time, it is unknown why the individual brought the firearm into the building.”
The incident did not result in a delayed start time for classes at Sunny Pointe, according to the letter sent to families, as the man was detained before the start of the school day.
“The interaction on our property was brief,” the letter read.
Some Sunny Pointe students who typically arrive to the school by bus were instead bussed to nearby Paul Kinder Middle School while IPD was on the premises, according to the letter. The students walked over to Sunny Pointe in order to resume attending classes Thursday morning.
Sunny Pointe is one of 13 elementary schools in the Blue Springs School District.
