Liverpool schools lock down after reported shots fired nearby, no injuries reported

Chestnut Hill Elementary School and Chestnut Hill Middle School were locked down Tuesday afternoon after a report of shots fired a few blocks away on the Liverpool side of Onondaga County. District officials sent an alert to parents and faculty around 1:30 p.m., and the lockout was lifted later in the afternoon after law enforcement cleared the area.

The reported gunfire was tied to the Drexler Street and Dollin Street and Hanover Avenue area, not at the school complex itself. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police responded, and later findings showed no shots had actually been fired. Investigators also said no firearms were found after a search warrant.

Superintendent Richard B. Chapman said no students or staff were hurt during the lockout. In a follow-up message to families, parents and guardians of some students were told to pick their children up directly because school buses could not navigate the affected area. Officials said the disruption lasted roughly two hours, with accounts placing the end of the lockout between about 3:08 p.m. and 3:24 p.m.

The response also led to the detention of a 24-year-old man, whom authorities said was in a mental health crisis. He was taken to a hospital and charged with criminal mischief after allegedly damaging a sheriff’s office drone, then issued an appearance ticket returnable to Salina Town Court.

For parents in Liverpool, the incident centered less on the neighborhood call itself than on how quickly the district could move students out of harm’s way and keep families informed. Admir Silajdzija, a district parent, said the alerts were frightening but that the main concern was keeping students safe. The afternoon ended without injuries inside either school, but the lockout underscored how quickly a nearby police response can turn a normal school day into a communitywide emergency.