Police in Waverly arrested a man who had a rifle on school property recently.
William McAuliffe, 47, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm on school grounds.
On August 18 police say McAuliffe possessed a 9mm Ruger Carbine semi-automatic rifle in a school-owned vehicle that was parked at the high school.
He was employed by the district as a custodian, according to officials. He was taken into custody and arraigned on the charges, then sent to the Tioga County Jail in lieu of bail.
The incident that resulted in McAuliffe’s arrest began off-school grounds. It was a domestic incident that occurred elsewhere, and through investigation, authorities found the firearm in the district-owned vehicle.
Eric Knolles sent a letter to the community following the incident.
Here’s his full-statement, which was originally published by WENY-TV:
“I want to clarify an item that is hitting the news today. Last week the Waverly Police Department arrested one of our employees following up on a Barton Town domestic disturbance call. Our police were able to locate the individual and our admin team was able to provide security footage to support their investigation. The police were able to arrest the individual for possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony. The incident stemmed from a domestic disturbance in Barton Town, Thursday night. The threat was not directed at the school or our students; however, the event entered our parking lot. The school district has taken the necessary personnel steps to make sure this individual is not a future threat. I want to personally thank Waverly PD, our high school administration team, and our tech director for their actions. Our thoughts continue to be with the families impacted by domestic violence and substance abuse.”
– Eric Knolles, Superintendent
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