Red Jacket High School students and parents waited in line yesterday to hug and thank former Principal Mark Bracy.
“I’m completely overwhelmed and thankful,” Bracy said at an event to honor him in Shortsville. “I’d like to thank you all for coming. It means so much to me and my family that you were here to celebrate with us tonight.”
Former high school principal honored for disarming student with gun (video)
Red Jacket High School Staff say student had been at school five months
He’s being awarded for his actions in a potentially dangerous situation earlier this year.
Back in April, school officials say a student brought a loaded to school.
His colleagues, who include the Shortsville Fire Chief, Jason Wagner, say Bracy used strategies from training he received in therapeutic crisis intervention to prevent a tragedy from happening.
“Mr. Mark Bracy successfully detected, deterred and counseled an emotionally disturbed student who brought a concealed loaded handgun with a spare magazine into the high school,” Shortsville Fire Chief Jason Wagner said. “Mr. Bracy remained calm and engaged the student in conversation and counseling for nearly three hours.”
More: Sheriff: Student brought loaded handgun, additional magazine to Red Jacket High School on Friday
Bracy says it was a good day because everybody went home that afternoon
But Bracy says, he did what he had to do.
“If people thought I would be talking about April 1st today, I’m not,” Bracy said. “It was a day. It was a Friday like any other. The sun was shining. The kids were excited about prom and ball the next day. It was a good day. That might sound funny to hear, but it was a good day. Everybody went home that afternoon, just like any other Friday.”
New York State Senator Pam Helming presented Bracy with the Liberty Medal.
“The liberty medal is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen by the State of New York,” Helming said.
More: Red Jacket principal spoke to student with loaded handgun for hours, says Sheriff Povero
Ontario County DA: Student being held in secure facility
As for that student, FingerLakes1.com spoke with the Ontario County District Attorney, Jim Ritts, who says he is being held in a secure facility, with a motions hearing scheduled for next month.
The minor, whose identity hasn’t been released, is facing charges as a juvenile offender with Kidnapping in the Second Degree, two counts of Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree Occurring on School Grounds and one count of Attempted Robbery in the First Degree.
Educators say kindness and understanding matter
Bracy says he hopes the incident serves as a reminder that practicing kindness and understanding in everyday life goes a long way.
“Hopefully it reminds us that people have impact on one another every single day,” he said. “We never know how the simplest act of kindness might make a different down the road after billions of decisions and interactions.”
More: School board updates district safety plan following April 1 incident at Red Jacket High School
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].