Dear Utica City School District Families and Community Members,

Late this afternoon, the Utica City School District was made aware of a report of shots fired in the vicinity of Conkling Elementary School. The Utica Police Department was immediately contacted and responded to the scene. At this time, police have recovered a flare gun in the school’s parking lot, which they now have in their possession. The investigation remains ongoing.

At the time of the reported incident, no students were outside the building. Students who were inside Conkling Elementary were safely secured within the building by the administrative team until the Utica Police Department arrived. Once law enforcement determined it was safe to do so, a controlled dismissal was conducted in coordination with police officers, school administrators, and parents.

The Utica Police Department is also responding to a developing situation near Kernan Elementary School. While we believe this may be related, it’s important to note that no students are present at Kernan at this time and were dismissed safely this afternoon.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking that all community members stay off school property for the remainder of the evening as law enforcement continues its investigation.

We are in close communication with the Utica Police Department, and at this time, we do not believe there will be any impact on school arrivals tomorrow morning. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as needed.

The safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. We thank the Utica Police Department for their swift response and our school administrators for their leadership during today’s events.


Sincerely,
Dr. Christopher Spence
Superintendent of Schools
Utica City School District