New Statement from Superintendent on Accidental Gunfire at Frankfort-Schuyler Open House

The public is still in the dark when it comes to official answers following a startling September 3rd incident involving a firearm at an elementary school in Herkimer County.

It has been almost a week since a gun went off during an open house event at the Frankfort-Schuyler Elementary School. It was originally reported by the Frankfort-Schuyler Superintendent that around 6 p.m. on September 3rd a school resource officer on duty at the time of the event was made aware of an accidental discharge of a weapon on school grounds.

Since then, law enforcement has been tight lipped as far as their investigation goes and despite several rumors swirling on social media and across town there is no official word on what exactly happened, who was injured and who is responsible. WIBX did reach out to Frankfort Police, but Frankfort Police Chief Matt Palumbo said this is an ongoing investigation and no details are being released until the investigation is concluded.

On Monday, September 9th, 2024 Frankfort-Schuyler Superintendent Joseph Palmer released an updated statement regarding the incident and ongoing investigation. His statement on Facebook read,

We wanted to update you on the unintentional, negligent discharge of a firearm outside our Elementary building on the evening of our Elementary Open House. We continue to fully cooperate with local law enforcement and the District Attorney's office with their investigation. We are confident their investigation will be concluded in the near future. As with any outside law enforcement investigation we have been limited in what we are able to share with the public. However, once the investigation has been concluded we will be able to release more details. In the meantime the school continues to collaborate with our SROs and local law enforcement to review all our procedures to continue to ensure the safety of our students, staff and school community. We appreciate your support, concern and patience as law enforcement continues their investigation. The safety of everyone in our school community remains our top priority. Thank you and enjoy your day.

While there are no new details in the Superintendent's statement regarding the incident, at least he is continuing to show to the members of his school community that he's still being attentive to it and respecting the law enforcement timeline on the investigation.

A story released by WKTV seems to imply that a member of the Yorkville Police Department was involved somehow. The Police Chief there says they are cooperating with investigators in Frankfort and Herkimer County and that they can't say more as it's an "internal investigation."

We will continue to provide details as they become available.