Gun incident under investigation at Cactus Shadows High School
Courtesy of Cactus Shadows High School Facebook page
Students roam around the campus at Cactus Shadows High School. An incident involving a firearm being brought on campus on Sept. 11 is still under investigation from the Scottsdale Police Department and the Cave Creek Unified School District, according to e-mails obtained by Independent Newsmedia.
A student allegedly brought a gun onto the campus of Cactus Shadows High School on Sept. 11, and the school district and Scottsdale Police are investigating the incident, according to e-mails sent to parents obtained by Independent Newsmedia.
According to an email from Cave Creek Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Nicole Regan on Sept. 21, a student notified a staff member that another student had a firearm on Sept. 11.
The required safety-response protocol was not followed correctly, delaying notification of the district until after school, according to the the email.
Once district leadership was notified, the incident was reported to the Scottsdale Police Department. Families were notified on Sunday, Sept. 13 after the district confirmed there was no continuing threat to the campus, according to the email.
Independent Newsmedia sent e-mails and have not received comments from either Regan and Cactus Shadows Principal Heather Isom.
Two investigations are underway, according to Regan in the e-mail. There is a law enforcement investigation through the Scottsdale Police Department, and an internal district review of failure to follow established safety procedures.
Scottsdale Police said in an e-mail to Independent Newsmedia on Sept. 22 that “there is an investigation into allegations of a gun being brought on the Cactus Shadows High School campus on Sept 11. It is still an active investigation, which we don’t want to jeopardize by sharing further details at this point. There is no indication of any ongoing threat toward the students, faculty, or school.”
The school’s investigation is also still ongoing, but Regan, in an e-mail to parents on Thursday, Sept. 24, said steps have been taken in the past two weeks to “strengthen safety and security to CSHS.”
Those steps include:
• Increased visibility by security personnel, administrators and staff.
• Administrators met with Scottsdale Police to review daily safety procedures and strengthen coordination.
• All internal and external intercom systems have been tested and confirmed operational.
• The school’s emergency notification systems updated to alert staff on immediate threat reports through multiple communication methods.
Regan wrote another update would be provided to parents by Oct. 2 even if the investigations are not concluded.
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.
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