Canandaigua Academy

Canandaigua Academy suicide had extra ammo, explosive devices:

A 17-year-old senior who shot and killed himself this morning in a bathroom at Canandaigua Academy had 30 rounds of ammunition and two explosive devices in his locker.

Police said Thomas Kane used a sawed-off shotgun and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound but did not use the Molotov cocktail-type devices, two glass bottles filled with liquid and rags, that were in his locker.

The district will start the day two hours late on Wednesday.

Canandaigua City Police Chief Jonathan P. Welch said police will have a greater presence at Canandaigua Academy but not because they think anything will happen.

going to run the full gamut on this to make sure there were no other students involved,?Welch said.

The school was put on lockdown following the morning shooting and students were evacuated and taken to Canandaigua Middle School.

No one else was hurt. After-school activities for grades six through 12 were also canceled.David Connell, 17, a Canandaigua Academy senior, has known Thomas Kane over the years."He seemed like a good kid to me," Connell said. "He didn't seem like the kind of kid who would do this."Kellie Baker, whose daughter attends Canandaigua Academy, was among the parents waiting at the middle school earlier today.

"What we've heard so far I think is that it was just one student that was involved, but I just feel bad for that student and his parents or her parents and all the parents here," Kellie Baker said. "I've lived here my whole life and we've never had anything like this happen.

"I did get a text from my daughter about 11:18 this morning and it just said 'Mom. I love you very much. I'm sorry if I've ever done anything mean to you. I love you.' And that was it," Baker said. "I thought it was kind of odd because we hadn't heard about this yet."

According to school spokesman Andrew Thomas, there was a "suicide with a firearm" that happened between 9:30 and 10 a.m. in a bathroom by the south entrance of the school抯 athletic wing. An automated phone message system at 1 p.m. alerted all approximately 4,000 parents in the Canandaigua City School District.

City Manager Kay James said she does not recall any other suicides at a Canandaigua school in recent history.Canandaigua School District Superintendent Donald Raw said he was "very proud" of how school officials and students responded to the situation. He said the students all remained calm and followed evacuation instructions.

Different emergency drills are practiced throughout the year, including drills for lockdowns and evacuation, both of which happened today.Welch said police were conducting a two-part investigation ?one of which involves searching the inside of the school and the other focusing on the outside, including the parking lot where some students were parked.

He said the vehicles would be returned to students once the investigation is complete. He said the investigation is a "precautionary measure." A few students, who the chief said are friends with the victim, are being interviewed by police.Officials do not know yet how the student brought the gun into the school. Raw said the school does not have metal detectors but there are some video cameras.

"We don have regular searching going on," Raw said.

The students were evacuated class by class and as they walked out, police searched each individual "to some degree." About 1,325 students attend Canandaigua Academy. Streets were blocked off near the school. The Canandaigua Fire Department assisted with traffic control in the area.