LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) – Students at W.H. Knuckles Elementary in Lumberton were sent home with letters Thursday afternoon following an incident involving a gun near campus.
Sheila Hammonds’ 6 year-old son is in kindergarten at W.H. Knuckles Elementary. Hammonds says she is concerned because the letter sent home with her son doesn’t specify what happened Thursday afternoon.
“The first thing I was thinking was did somebody come into the school with the gun, did somebody go by shooting or what have you. All kind of bad things came rushing through my mind,” said Hammonds.
The principal of W.H. Knuckles Elementary sent home a letter with students Thursday in regards to an incident near campus that stated “My administrative staff and I communicated with our staff and informed them that students are not allowed to have any interaction with anyone on the other side of the fence surrounding our school while on the playground or walking trail”.
“We as mothers and fathers want our children to be safe when they go to school but my thing is that they do not specify what happens or what goes on,” added Hammonds.
Robeson County Assistant Superintendent Shanita Wooten tells News 13 that a man flashed a gun at a group of students from the opposite side of the fence, as the children played during recess, a neighbor then called the principal.
“They’re no stranger to these types of incidents and that’s probably the school that has more incidents of this nature because of where it’s situated,” mentioned Wooten.
While the incident did not happen on school property it affected students and parents like Sheila Hammonds.
“I don’t understand how you can have people’s children and then not let them know what has happened. I don’t get that, I just don’t,” Hammonds said.
Major Tommy Barnes with the Lumberton Police Department says there is an investigation underway to find out the circumstances around the incident.
