Giant burrito sends school into lockdown
School mistakes huge burrito for weapon, goes into lockdown
The Associated Press
updated 7:43 p.m. ET, Fri., April. 29, 2005
CLOVIS, N.M. - A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito.
Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.
The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapeños and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.
"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell said.
State police, Clovis police and the Curry County Sheriff's Department arrived at the school shortly after 8:30 a.m. They searched the premises and determined there was no immediate danger.
Worried parents gather at school
In the meantime, more than 30 parents, alerted by a radio report, descended on the school. Visibly shaken, they gathered around in a semicircle, straining their necks, awaiting news.
"There needs to be security before the kids walk through the door," said Heather Black, whose son attends the school.
After the lockdown was lifted but before the burrito was identified as the culprit, parents pulled 75 students out of school, Russell said.
Russell said the mystery was solved after she brought everyone in the school together in the auditorium to explain what was going on.
"The kid was sitting there as I'm describing this (report of a student with a suspicious package) and he's thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, they're talking about my burrito.'"
Afterward, eighth-grader Michael Morrissey approached her.
‘I think I’m the person they saw’
"He said, 'I think I'm the person they saw,'" Russell said.
The burrito was part of Morrissey's extra-credit assignment to create commercial advertising for a product.
"We had to make up a product and it could have been anything. I made up a restaurant that specialized in oddly large burritos," Morrissey said.
After students heard the description of what police were looking for, he and his friends began to make the connection. He then took the burrito to the office.
"The police saw it and everyone just started laughing. It was a laughter of relief," Morrissey said.
"Oh, and I have a new nickname now. It's Burrito Boy."
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7683168/
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2009 MSNBC.com
**If an object was under suspicion at school, I do not understand why the child was not approached at all during this time. He was the one sitting in the auditorium and realized that the scare was from his school project. For more safety action, I think more of an effort to realize what the object was should have been handled before making the "scare" public. Now, burritos are not only a danger to your stomach, but to the public. Stay tuned for the killer grilled cheese.**
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
LOL, thats almost as bad as the cop who shot the guy because he thought his pear was a hand grenade.
ReplyDeleteListen, Burrito are a seriouse thing that should not be taken lightly at all. I mean ask the mother who was concerned that her child had to face the dramatic experience of evacuating the school because of it. I really think we should take her voice seriousely.
ReplyDelete"There needs to be security before the kids walk through the door," said Heather Black, whose son attends the school.
Thats right damn it, no burritos in schools.