Salina shots-fired call triggers standoff, Liverpool school lockout, no gunfire found

A reported shots-fired call in Salina set off a sweeping police response, locked out two Liverpool schools and blocked streets around Drexler Street and Dollin Street before investigators later determined no shots had actually been fired.

CNY911 logged the call at 12:55 p.m. Thursday, April 30, as a shots-fired incident near Drexler Street at Dollin Street. Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley said emergency crews arrived around 1 p.m., and deputies, state troopers, SWAT and other responders converged on the home at 100 Dollin Street as officers worked to bring the scene under control.

The situation rippled quickly into the Liverpool Central School District. Chestnut Hill Elementary School and Chestnut Hill Middle School, both on Saslon Park Drive, were placed in lockout status while authorities dealt with the standoff. District officials said no students or staff were hurt. Families in the affected area were also asked to pick up children directly because buses could not safely move through the blocked streets.

Shelley said deputies were able to speak with the 24-year-old man inside the residence for about 30 minutes, and those conversations were productive even though there was a language barrier at first. State police helped notify the district, and Shelley said troopers did a good job coordinating with the schools as the response expanded beyond the home on Dollin Street.

By the end of the night, investigators said the emergency call had not involved actual gunfire. The sheriff’s office said no shots were fired from the residence and no firearms were found after a search warrant. Deputies later said the man was in a mental health crisis and was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly damaging a sheriff’s office drone and was issued an appearance ticket returnable to Salina Town Court.

For parents like Admir Silajdzija, the fast-moving notifications added to the anxiety. He said the school alerts were scary because he did not immediately know what area was affected. The episode left a familiar local lesson: even a call that starts with the sound of gunfire can unfold into something different, but the law-enforcement and school response still has to be large enough to protect children, staff and neighbors until the facts are clear.