VI CONSORTIUM
ST. THOMAS — The Dept. of Education said Tuesday night that the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School administration instated an extended bell schedule Tuesday morning while the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) was on campus to detain a male student in connection with an off-campus robbery and ended up conducting a 30-minute search of the campus following the discovery of a firearm on the student. A standard frisk of the student recovered a handgun and unspent magazine.
With the discovery of the weapon and ammunition, the school’s administration held students in their classes for a longer period of time so police could perform a thorough search of the campus, according to Principal Alicia Leerdam. Classes resumed their normal schedules following the search, which found no additional threat to students and staff.
D.O.E. said police initially visited the Kean High School campus at 10 a.m. Tuesday to detain the male student, who, along with two other students, is alleged to have been involved in the weekend robbery of another student outside the victim’s home. Earlier Tuesday, around 8 a.m., police also apprehended the two other male students on the school’s campus alleged to be involved in the weekend robbery.
The Kean administration continues to follow the appropriate procedures governing student due process, including conducting private meetings with students and their parents, according to D.O.E.
The off-campus robbery incident remains under investigation by police.