Bullets found in plastic bag at Boston Latin Academy, police say

A Boston Police officer and his K-9 arrived at Boston Latin Academy to search after a bag of bullets was found at the school.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

A small plastic bag containing bullets was found Tuesday at Boston Latin Academy, the second time ammunition was found at a city school in less than a week, authorities said.

Officers responded to Boston Latin Academy, located at 205 Townsend St., at 1:52 p.m. for a report of found bullets in a bag, according to Boston police Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a department spokesman.

Boston Public Schools officials said a bag of ammunition was discovered around 1:50 p.m. at the school’s loading dock, after students had been dismissed for the day, so the school didn’t have to go into safe mode.

Police, BPS said, conducted a full sweep of the school and found no other suspicious items. Parents and guardians were notified and an investigation’s ongoing.

“The safety of our students and staff remains the top priority of the Boston Public Schools,” said BPS in a statement. “Today’s incident is troubling. District and school leaders will continue to work with the Boston Police on their ongoing investigation and provide any support to the school community that may be needed. We’re grateful that at no time was any student or staff person in danger and we are thankful to the Boston Police and School staff who responded quickly.”

James, a 7th grader at Boston Latin, said the school was dismissed at 1:40 p.m. because of a teacher meeting.

“When I got out of the school around like 1:50 ish, I seen a cop outside, but I didn’t think much of it because they didn’t inform us that they found anything,” the student said in front of the school around 3:15 p.m.

James said incidents such as the bullet discovery Tuesday don’t scare or deter him from coming to school.

Tuesday’s discovery comes after a .45 caliber live round of ammunition was found Friday in a toilet at the James F. Condon K-8 School in South Boston.

City Council President Ed Flynn and At-Large Councilor Michael Flaherty, who represent South Boston, on Saturday held a press conference to criticize Condon school officials’ response to the discovery of the bullet.

A Boston police report on the incident said after the discovery of the bullet, officers searched the bathroom and the ceiling, but no firearms or ammunition was found, the Globe reported Sunday.

A school official declined to have a police K-9 unit search entire building while school was in session. But police returned after school to conduct a sweep, but no additional ammunition or weapons were discovered, police said.

In an interview Tuesday, Flaherty said the discovery of the bullets “underscores” the need to address school safety.

“I’m grateful that no one was harmed during today’s incident and grateful for the robust response by the Boston Police Department,” Flaherty said. “The events of the last week clearly underscore an urgent need to address safety concerns across the Boston Public School System. We need to move forward in a way that centers students and families’ concerns about safety instead of minimizing legitimate safety concerns and issues with public relations spin.”

Correspondent Maya Homan contributed to this story.