On Sept. 22, students at Shelburne Middle School in Staunton began practicing a new policy of storing backpacks and cell phones in their assigned lockers.
On Facebook, however, parents and concerned community members suggested that the locker requirement was a result of an incident on September 10 in which a report was made that a student had carried a BB gun into the school in their backpack.
In a message that day to parents, Shelburne Principal Lisa Warren said the school’s team acted swiftly and immediately investigated the report with Staunton Police Department.
While a BB gun was found in the possession of a student on school grounds, the item was confiscated and “appropriate action” was taken as required by school board policy.
“I encourage you to take this opportunity to talk with your student about the importance of quickly reporting any actual or suspected weapons to a trusted adult. Quick reporting helps us work together to maintain a safe environment for everyone in our learning community,” Warren said in her message.
The incident of a BB gun at Shelburne Middle follows incidents of other kinds at local public schools, including the placement of additional deputies from Augusta County Sheriff’s Office at Fort Defiance High School in Augusta County on Sept. 11, after reports of an organized attack on the school. The sheriff’s office found the reports not to be a credible threat.
On Aug. 30, 2024, a bomb threat was made at Fort Defiance High and a student taken into custody.
ICYMI: Weapons/threats in local schools
- Sheriff’s Office: Weapon found in vehicle in Fort Defiance High School parking lot
- Augusta County: Student makes bomb threat at Fort Defiance
- Augusta County | FDHS threat traced to personnel, charge pending
- Waynesboro | Knife with six-inch blade found in student’s bookbag
Most recently, on Sept. 19, a six-inch knife was found in a student’s backpack at William Perry Elementary School in Waynesboro.
According to researcher David Riedman, who tracks all cases of guns fired or brandished in his K-12 School Shooting Database, more than 160 incidents have happened on public school property in 2025. Gun-related incidents at schools have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, Riedman told NPR. Before 2021, incidents of guns on school property reached more than 124 but jumped to 351 by 2023.
“That really escalated in the late 2010s and then became an even bigger problem post-COVID during the return of both students and community members to the campuses,” Riedman said.
Of his data, a small percentage of K-12 schools report gun-related incidents each year. Riedman said some students live in homes with the presence of easily accessible or unproperly secured firearms.
“There are students arrested with guns at schools just about every single day, and they don’t have a plan to shoot anyone. They just carry the gun with them often for either the prestige of having it or for protection because they themselves fear being victimized,” Riedman said.
The National Center for Education Statistics uses data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which revealed that the percentage of students in ninth to 12th grades who reported they carried a weapon onto school property at least one day in the previous 30 school days, decreased from 5 percent in 2011 to 3 percent in 2021. A higher percentage of boys than girls during the same time frame reported carrying a weapon onto school property.
At the start of the 2025-2026 school year, all Shelburne Middle students in Staunton were provided locker assignments and combinations, but were still allowed to carry backpacks during the school day. After some observation, including the potential tripping hazard created by backpacks when placed on classroom floors, students are now required to leave backpacks and cell phones in their lockers before going to HERD at 8:35 a.m.
In a message to parents, Warren said that if a student needs to reach them during the school day phones are available in the school’s main office and in each classroom.
“Students will still have access to their lockers during the school day to pick up any additional items needed for classes. We believe this measure will promote a supportive and safe environment for our entire school community and help students better manage their belongings,” Warren said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
