SHELBY (UPDATED 8:04 A.M.) — Shelby City Schools, Pioneer Career and Technology Center and St. Mary’s School in Shelby are all closed Monday for safety precautions, according to the Shelby Police Department.
A posting on the Shelby Police Department Facebook Page states, “A Shelby High School student who attends Pioneer Career and Technology Center has been missing for 24 hours and it is believed that a firearm may be missing from the student’s home. The Shelby City Schools and Pioneer are closed for Monday March 6 and are working in close conjunction with the Shelby Police Department to resolve this situation quickly and safely.”
The Shelby Police updated the original post saying, “This is strictly precautionary. There is no known threat.”
“There is no known threat at all, this is strictly precautionary,” said Capt. Dave Mack with the Shelby Police Department.
“We’re following up to find the missing juvenile, but right now it’s just a missing juvenile, and there is no threat.”
On Sunday, Shelby PD took a missing person’s report for 17-year-old Samuel Baker. He is believed to be driving his 2000 Silver Dodge Stratus with the license plate number of GWB6329.
Samuel is 5’10 and weighs 159 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. If anyone knows any information on his whereabouts please contact the Shelby Police Department at 419-347-2242.
According to Mack, the juvenile’s parents contacted the Shelby Police Department at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday to report their child missing. It was at this time police learned the juvenile was in possession of a firearm.
The juvenile is a student of Shelby High School, but also attends Pioneer Career and Technology Center.
“The police department is conducting the investigation,” Mack explained. “The schools called us because they had heard some of this information.”
Shelby City Schools Superintendent Tim Tarvin and Pioneer Superintendent Greg Nickoli worked in conjunction to decide to close school for the day. Mack stated the Shelby PD did not make a recommendation either way about closing school.
“There were rumors going around that the kid had made threats, but those are unsubstantiated at this time,” Tarvin stated. “All we know is the student has been missing, and a firearm allegedly has been missing from the house.
“We decided we’re going to close and let the police sort this out,” he continued. “We wanted to err on the side of caution.”
Both Tarvin and Mack stated this is the first time in recent memory a local school district has been closed for the day due to safety reasons.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details become available.
