Fountain Valley Police detaining and putting the student into the police car. Photo by Steve Phan.by Caitlin Pham, Editor-in-Chief, & Steve Phan, News Editor
An intoxicated Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) student was revealed to have a fake, plastic gun and pocketknife in his possession after a home basketball game on Feb. 3 at approximately 8:40 p.m. In order to ensure the safety of the student body, the administration decided to cancel the Pack the Gym dance that was to follow the game.
After the administration was notified of the armed student, a routine pat down was done on the student by the school janitors and Assistant Principal of Activities Josh Lamar. The Fountain Valley Police Department (FVPD) arrived approximately two minutes after being called and the student was safely detained. The students who remained were rounded up into the school’s cafeteria so Principal Morgan Smith, Ed.D., could explain the situation and give them those most accurate information available.
“Unfortunately, we have a student tonight that made a terrible, terrible mistake. He brought something to our gym, to our school, that he shouldn’t. Something that looked very serious and very real but it turned out that it was not real. But it looked the part and we treated it as the part. We treat it as the situation. When we rise to that height and level, it makes us do a gut check… Which means that we are going to get a hold of real mom and dad to let them know what happened and why we [canceled the dance]. I would much rather you be safe than have any kind of worry,” said Smith.
Due to the cancellation of the dance, student dance tickets are to be refunded on Monday Feb. 6. Though some students felt strongly about the cancellation of the dance, they understood the circumstances.
“Well, first when he said it, that the dance was being cancelled and everyone should go home, I thought he was joking but it actually ended up being true. I’m pretty bummed out about it, that shouldn’t have happened. Whoever brought that gun, that fake gun, whatever it was, shouldn’t have done that either. So I’m pretty bummed out about that but it’s about safety so I guess that’s important,” said Gaganjyot Arora (‘17).
Other students expressed the same concerns.
“Personally, I’m really disappointed because I was really looking forward to the dance, but I guess that for everyone’s safety I can understand why they decided to cancel it,” said Allen Ninh (‘18), a student from Bolsa Grande High School.
After closing off the campus, Smith sent out a phone call to all households to explain the basic situation why the dance was canceled, Assistant Principal of Supervision Marc Trocchio sent a phone call to the student’s parents and Lamar stayed back with the Associated Student Body (ASB) students to clean up the area.
“It’s really sad how we had 300 to 400 kids who wanted to have a good wholesome Friday night and unfortunately an action of a young man who made a very poor choice ruined it for everybody. So we feel very sorry about that but you guys are awesome. You know, not many schools would behave the way you guys did in the cafeteria and we’re so proud of that,” said Trocchio.
Since the event, Smith has been working with the FVPD and other administrators to decide the best course of action for the student. Meetings have also been held with the staff in order to discuss how to deal with the situation.
Keep checking this article for more updates
The shooter was carl wheezer
Watching these videos and the manner in which this situation was handled is the true epitome of FV Proud. Hats off to emergency responders, staff and students who, understandably disappointed, showed great respect for all. Go Barons!