Student sets off firework in third floor, causing schoolwide evacuation

By Hugo M.

Students were startled by a loud bang that came from the third floor on May 23 right as fourth period was ending. It was reported that a firework set off by a freshman student exploded in the hallway.

Now that weeks have passed, some teachers and students who were close to the firework have shared how they were affected by it and how this affects the future of the safety of both the students and staff at CATS, and what action should be done to prevent another event like this from happening again.

Mr. Antonio Roque, the assistant principal here at CATS, shared details of what happened that day as well as what consequences the student faced due to the incident.

He said that following the evacuation, he and a few other teachers and staff including Ms. Smith, the assistant principal of all four schools, went and checked the hallways to make sure that everything was ok. “When things like this happen, sometimes the Office of Environmental Health and Safety has to come in and make sure that everything is safe,” he said.

He mentioned how in this case, the office that manages incidents like this told him that it was safe and that no further action was required.

In regards to action taken against the student who set off the firework, Mr. Roque said the student is facing “restorative consequences” and said that part of that involves “writing a reflection piece in which he thinks and writes about how his decision affected not just [those] here at school, but also his family.”

Many affected students and teachers who were near the incident felt strongly about what the student did and believe that more should have been done.

Jibaro B., a freshman who was close when the firework went off, shared, “I feel it was a very unsafe decision to allow the student back, too, because what happens if he does it again?”

He further shared that he was in close range of the firework when it went off and that his ears were ringing and that he had to go home because of how distressing the situation was.

Similarly, biology teacher Mr. Noah Kroll, who was one of the closest people to the firework, shared how he felt regarding the student and the incident.

“I was about 20 feet away from it when it went off, and it was very traumatic, a noise that loud,” he said. “And there’s been a couple of times since then where I’ve heard a loud noise where I’ve been really startled.”

Additionally he shared how for him, one of the more adverse things with the student is the fact he had to see him in his class almost everyday. He said how, “the first day back the student basically comes up to me and says ‘Oh, wasn’t that funny?’ and he was joking about it with his friends.”

He shared how “[the school should] properly address those who were affected, as well as the kids who were traumatized.”

He shared how he believes that the student should have received a stronger consequence such as suspension.

In regards to expulsion and suspension, Mr. Roque shared how consequences like that are out of the school’s hands.

“I had to tell the parent that this may go to an expulsion,” he said. “We spoke to the expulsion unit district and they decide whether they go through it or not, and they said that it didn’t rise to the level of an expulsion.”

Additionally, Mr. Roque shared that the student did appear remorseful for what they had done and they are still facing continuing consequences from this week to the next.

Furthermore, Mr. Roque shared that if students do feel unsafe and were severely affected by this incident, that if there are any students who feel traumatized, they should definitely tell one of the teachers or come and talk to their counselors or Ms. Wesley, the school social worker.

Furthermore, he shared how despite the action taken against the student, students should speak up if they do see suspicious activity.

He said, “all of us have a responsibility to make sure that if we know if somebody is going to do something like that, that we either speak up and come and tell somebody.”

Mr. Roque said how he believes that the student did not act alone. He said, “when we stay quiet, things like this happen, so [if we] see something, we should say something.”