JAMESTOWN – Hours after an unfounded report of gun shots near the high school that rattled the collective nerves of a community inundated with school-age kids, Mayor Sam Teresi expressed relief that the reports didn’t materialize.
“Today (Monday) was a report that was looked into very quickly and determined not to be a real or imminent threat,” said Teresi. “All of these (incidents) are taken very seriously and you treat everything as an actual case until proven otherwise.”
While Teresi described the city as “safe and good” , he urged residents not to overlook the possibility that Jamestown may, one day, deal with a school shooting.
“To fall into the false sense of security that things we see happening in other places can’t happen here, because the folks that are dealing with those situations whether its in Texas, Florida, or Nevada, or you name it, didn’t think it could happen in their wonderful home towns,” Teresi said.
The Mayor has not dealt with an emergency the caliber of a school shooting since his tenure began nearly 20 years ago.
“It’s natural for all of us to breathe a sigh of relief momentarily and say, ‘ Thank God that’s not happening here,’l Teresi said. “The best thing we could do is be prepared.
Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings did not stick around after Monday night’s City Council meeting long enough for us to reach out to him for comment.
According to a report in Time, the Sante Fe, Texas school shooting last week that left eight people dead, was the 22nd school shooting this year, an average of more than one per week.
