By EMILY CUTTS
For The Recorder
NORTHAMPTON – A Florence man pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court Friday to charges that he brought air rifles onto the grounds of JFK Middle School shortly before dismissal on Thursday afternoon, which prompted that school and others in the district to go into lockdowns.
Matthew E. Borsuk, 27, was arraigned on charges Friday of disturbing a school assembly and two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds. Standing next to his attorney Michael L. Foy, of Springfield, Borsuk said nothing as Judge W. Michael Goggins ordered bail set at $500 with conditions that he stay away from all Northampton Public Schools and not possess any firearms including pellet guns. Goggins also ordered that Borsuk remain drug and alcohol free.
More than a dozen local and state police cruisers responded to JFK Middle School on Bridge Road after receiving a report at 2:10 p.m. of a male with a gun in the rear parking lot. Police Chief Jody Kasper said in a statement Friday that a JFK staff member had been outside with students and that the group observed the vehicle and the suspicious man.
“Initial reports indicated that the man had removed a long barreled rifle from the trunk of a vehicle,” Kasper wrote.
The first officer, Sgt. Grzegorz Korepta, arrived at the school in less than a minute and found the man, according to police. He located the suspicious vehicle in the parking lot on the west side of the school, where it had been backed into a parking spot.
“Sgt. Korepta observed a male (Matthew Borsuk) sitting on the ground by the rear bumper of the car. Borsuk had what appeared to be a rifle on his lap and it appeared that he was loading it,” Kasper wrote. “Sgt. Korepta had Borsuk at gunpoint, ordered him to show his hands, and he complied. At that time Sgt. Korepta also observed a rifle scope on the ground. Moments later additional police units arrived on scene to assist. Borsuk was detained and ultimately arrested.”
Police confiscated several items from Borsuk and his vehicle including an Accu Whisper Pellet Gun (.177 caliber), a Brown Swiss Arms TG-1 Pellet Gun (.177 caliber), Crosman .177 caliber pellets (500), a scope for the black pellet rifle, gun cases, 11.37 grams of marijuana, a marijuana smoking pipe and grinder, and other miscellaneous items, according to Kasper. No injuries were reported.
Borsuk told police he was at the school to pick up an adult friend and they were planning to go target shooting at a later time, Kasper wrote. At around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Borsuk was observed sitting on a curb in handcuffs, surrounded by police near the school’s tennis and basketball courts as police removed the items from a sedan nearby. School was let out about an hour late due to the lockdown.
“Since he had some time while he was waiting, he decided to sit outside of the school, remove the weapon from his trunk, and put it together,” Kasper wrote. “He indicated that he had no intention of entering the school or using the weapon at that time.”
Northampton Schools Superintendent John Provost said after the incident Thursday that the school immediately went into lockdown procedures and that the suspicious man never breached building security. After police determined there was no risk to the school, students began to be released, Provost said. At Northampton High School, where students had already been released for the day, any students who remained on campus were allowed to leave in a controlled release, according to Provost. The district’s elementary schools went into either lockdown or shelter in place until they were cleared to release students. Police cleared the scene at around 5 p.m.
Borsuk is scheduled to appear in court again on July 11.