DA: Student firecracker prank causes chaos in cafeteria
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
BALLSTON SPA -- Ballston Spa High School students got a scare Thursday morning when a 17-year-old student allegedly tossed a bundle of firecrackers into a crowded cafeteria, raising alarms that there was gunfire in the building.
Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy said the student believed to be responsible, Daniel Berger, a senior, was charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, after the incident.
Berger pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was arraigned in Clifton Park Town Court, and is now being held at the Saratoga County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond. He faces up to seven years in jail if convicted.
No students were injured in the event, but many were alarmed because the firecrackers sounded like gunshots, Murphy said.
"The immediate reaction of the students was chaos," he said. "They ran. They hid. It was all very frightening."
Authorities said they were still looking into the student's possible motives.
Ballston Spa School District Superintendent Joseph Dragone was not immediately available for comment.
Posted in Local, Saratoga on Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:55 am Updated: 1:20 pm.
Similar Stories
- Warren County leaders might hire an administrator again
- Firefighters exposed to chemicals during mill fire
- Defiant Iran accelerates nuclear program
- Strong overseas sales put fizz in Coca-Cola's 4Q
- 6 NHL teams to open 2010-11 season in Europe
- UBS makes Q4 profit, but withdrawals continue
- Russian military calls US missile defense a threat
- Irish abuse victims ask pope to replace bishops
Sponsored Links
Most Read
- Police: Armed robbery call at trailer park was hoax
- Police release name of snowmobile victim
- Three charged after robbery reported
- Benjamin G. Round
- Man charged with abusing 3-year-old
- Police: Man gives fake name, is arrested
- Son pinned against house by father's truck
- Suspect: Robbery hoax was revenge
