‘I refuse to send my baby back’: Boston mother emotional after bag of bullets found at son’s school

BOSTON — A Boston mother says she isn’t comfortable sending her 13-year-old son back to Boston Latin Academy after a bag of bullets was found on school grounds.

Officers responded to the 7-12 school in Dorchester at 1:52 p.m. after the discovery was made at the school’s loading dock.

The Boston Public Schools said police conducted a full sweep of the school and found no other suspicious items or weapons. According to the district, students had already been dismissed for the day about 10 minutes before the ammunition was reported.

“We’re grateful that at no time was any student or staff person in danger and we are thankful to the Boston Police and School staff who responded quickly,” a spokesperson for the district said in part, adding that the incident was “troubling.”

Jolise Seide told Boston 25 News that her 13-year-old was still inside the school doing homework because she was running late to pick him up.

“He called and said a whole bunch of police is here, and they’re telling us we have to leave,” explained Seide. “I asked the teacher, please stay with my son. He does not feel safe.”

Seide is thankful to the teacher who stayed by her son’s side until she arrived. At the time, she said neither her nor her son knew why police were swarming the school.

“The one place that I’m thinking my child’s going to be safe, he’s not safe,” cried Seide.

Seide said she received an email from the school about an hour and 45 minutes after the bullets were first located.

“Boston Police and our school team have no reason to believe there is any safety threat to our school community. Please know that our learning environments are full of trusted adults,” the email explained.

However, Seide said the assurance offered her little comfort and has left her with more questions than answers.

“We’re not talking about one bullet. We’re talking about a bag of bullets!” she said. “I refuse to send my baby back. I demand answers.”

Police are still probing how the bag of ammunition ended up at the school.

The investigation comes less than a week after a live round was found in a toilet at the Condon Community School in South Boston.

“There needs to be metal detectors. I don’t care if it’s students or adults. Every building, every section, everybody needs to be checked,” added Seide. “School is supposed to be an educational place. Not a war zone.”

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2022 Cox Media Group