CCUSD, Scottsdale Police investigation into athletic director's handling of gun incident still ongoing

By Jeff Wendt
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Cave Creek Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Nicole Regan sent a message to parents of Cactus Shadows High School on Oct. 22 with an update regarding a potential gun on the campus that happened on Sept. 11.

“The Cave Creek Unified School District is aware of an ongoing Scottsdale Police Department investigation involving a report that a student brought a firearm onto the Cactus Shadows High School campus,” Regan wrote in the joint statement email. “As part of the investigation, concerns were identified about how the initial report was handled after it was brought to the school’s athletic director’s attention.

“Scottsdale Police submitted a case involving the athletic director to the Scottsdale City Prosecutor’s Office for review of potential criminal charges related to the failure to report the allegation,” Regan added. “The submission of a case for review does not mean formal criminal charges have been filed.”

Regan said in an interview with the Cave Creek Independent Tuesday that while charges have been submitted to the prosecutor, Scottsdale Police are wrapping up their investigation and that hopefully soon, the school district would wrap theirs up as well.

"We have been working with the Scottsdale Police Department with their investigation," Regan said. 

Regan said the athletic director, whom she said she could not name due to legal guidance, remains on leave. 

"I'm not naming the employee to protect the integrity of the investigations," Regan said. "If it becomes a personnel matter, that would be heard by the school board, to which at that time it would become public."

According to Regan, she confirmed in the message the student involved was not enrolled in the Cave Creek Unified School District. The incident took place on Sept. 11 shortly after 11 a.m. and students were dismissed at 12:40 p.m.

Regan said on Tuesday staff did go through another round of training recently, and that all staff are set to go through another training session in January.  The district also plans on doing a safety asessment  of the campus soon.

Cactus Shadows does have one school resource officer on campus.

Regan said in her next update to families coming on Oct. 30, she plans to clarify information about the student involved in the incident.

“There is no threat to students, staff, or the community,” Regan said. “We remain dedicated to providing a safe and supportive learning environment where students can focus on their education.”

Multiple attempts to reach the Scottsdale Police Department were unsuccessful.

Jeff Wendt
Reporter | Phoenix/Cave Creek

jwendt@iniusa.org

Meet Jeff
Jeff Wendt started at Independent Newsmedia in January 2023, after 25 years working for Gannett and The Arizona Republic. Started as a high school sports scoretaker, worked up to reporting high school sports and then became an associate high school sports editor in 2002. Also worked in the Design Studio as a copy editor.

Community: Jeff serves on the Board of Elders at his local church.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication

Random fact: Attended Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.

Hobbies: Playing video games (yes still the kid in me), watching reality TV, playing poker.