Oct 4, 2002 By Christine Haines 3 min read

LUZERNE TWP. – Brownsville Area High School went into lock-down mode for a while Thursday afternoon after gunfire was heard in the area. “No children were allowed out of the building or out of their rooms, either. I wanted to make sure we took every precaution possible,” said Dr. Geraldine Grant, the district’s superintendent.

Grant said the incident occurred during the lunch period and she wanted to make sure no students went outside if there was any possibility of danger. The precautions resulted in adjustments to the usual lunch schedule.

“The cafeteria staff was told to stay until everyone had been served,” Grant said.

A private firing range is next to the school property, and officials believe the firing came from the range. Seth Menold, who hosts shoots on his uncle’s property, was contacted by the district, but said he doesn’t know what happened.

“My uncle has some property that is located behind the high school that we use on weekends for a target range,” Menold said.

A target shoot is scheduled for this weekend, and Menold said he left the gate to the property open so people could bring in vehicles to be used as targets, though he wasn’t aware of anyone bringing a vehicle Thursday. A car was left at the site. Although it had been believed that the person who delivered the car had been using it for target practice, Menold said the car hadn’t been shot.

“We’re still trying to find out who brought the car in,” Menold said.

Menold said that while he understands the concerns of the school district, the firing range shouldn’t present a safety hazard to the high school, especially since it is to be used only on weekends. “The high school is off to the right. It’s not in a direct line,” Menold said.

In addition, the area of the range had been mined, and a high wall left from the mining operation serves as a backstop for the firing range.

“There’s a straight 90-degree wall facing you as you look down the range. It’s pretty high. We have professionals down there. There are quite a few police officers who use it,” Menold said.

The range is simply private property used for shooting, he said, and a zoning hearing for a variance for it to be classified as a firing range will be held soon.

Grant said she isn’t comfortable with the shooting range so close to the school and would like to see it closed permanently. She noted that children use the school grounds for recreation on the weekends and she worries about their safety, even if the range isn’t used during the school week.

Brownsville police initially were called to the scene, though they don’t have jurisdiction in Luzerne Township. Grant said the state police also were called but had not arrived as of 3 p.m. The gunfire was heard around 12:20 p.m.