PINE PLAINS — The gunman who allegedly barricaded himself in at Stissing Mountain middle school with a hostage was taken into custody, Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said.Multiple sources have said the man in custody is Christoper Craft, a Pine Plains resident.
Bob Hess, the middle school principal, who had been taken hostage, has been released unharmed.
At 11 a.m., at least three school buses were dispatched to the school.
At 10:15 a.m., police were working on a plan to evacuate students and reunite them with their parents, Pulver said.
The district’s Web site states the middle and high building includes grades 6 to 12. The high school enrollment is about 400 students and middle school includes about 270 students.
“The students are not all out of the school. … We have to provide the counseling to the students who need and figure out the best way to re-unit students and parents. They are working on that,” Pulver said.
Bruce Kimball, vice president of the school’s board of education, said a lockdown drill was held Nov. 5 to practice for an emergency situation.
“Everyone did the right thing and knew what to do today,“ Kimball said.
He added: “This turned out the best way it could.”
A large gathering of concerned parents, many on cell phones, gathered outside the Stissing Mountain House restaurant waiting for their children. The restaurant is located on Route 199 near the intersection of Main Street.
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