Hostage Taking At Stissing Mountain High School, Gunman Arrested

by Yuliya Talmazan | November 10, 2009 at 08:35 am

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The principle of the Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains, Dutchess County, N.Y., has been taken hostage by an armed man at 7:45 AM ET today as the school was just opening its doors to students. Despite the early hours, there were 600 people in the school. The gunman surrendered to police within hours at around 10 AM ET. It is not clear why only the principle of the school was targeted.

There are allegations that the gunman is in his 40s and is a former student at the school. His name has not been released yet. Some sources report that the gunman's son was a student at the school as well and has been recently suspended for unknown reasons. The Stissing Mountain is still on lockdown. All students are safe. No shots have been fired during the incident.

According to the Pine Plains Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver, the school's principal was taken hostage at the start of the school day at about 8 a.m.

The gunman is described as a man in his 40s, who has had previous run-ins with the law and may be mentally unstable. Reports also say the gunman graduated from Stissing Mountain High School in the 1980s.

More updates to follow.

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