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Bus carrying Newfane Boys' Soccer team shot at with air rifle pellets

Because the bus has safety glass, the windows were intact and no one was injured.

NEWFANE, N.Y. — The Niagara County Sheriffs Office says it has some leads, into who may have fired shots last night at a school bus  which was carrying the Newfane High School soccer team.

Sheriff's investigators believe the rounds came from an air rifle or pellet gun, as the windows of the bus, while cracked, remained intact.

The incident happened around 8pm on Orangeport Road near railroad tracks in Gasport.

That is not far from where the Newfane Panthers had just earned a hard fought win over Royalton Hartland in a playoff game held at Royalton Hartland Elementary School.

It is not known at this time whether this was a random act, or related to their playoff game.

Investigators tell 2 On Your Side they're looking for silver Buick LeSabre.

"It baffles me that someone would do this," said Niagara County Undersheriff Michael J. Filicetti. "We've taken it seriously because obviously if someone shoots at a school bus we want to find out who did that."

Filicetti told WGRZ-TV investigators may be well on their way to finding out more.

"We had as witness give us some information so we are trying to down a vehicle. It's a silver Buick LeSabre that we are looking for out in that east end of of the county in the Royalton Area. We're looking to speak to that driver of the vehicle that was in the area at the time," Filicetti said.

According to Filicetti the perpetrator, if caught, could face charges including reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and possible weapons charges.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Niagara County Sheriff's Investigator Leggett at 716-438-3338

You can read the school's full statement here:

Last night, while returning to the district after winning their first round playoff soccer game, the rear windows on the bus carrying the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team were struck by unknown objects.  This caused the windows to shatter/spiderweb, although the safety glass features kept the windows intact.  No one was injured, and the bus immediately pulled over and the police were summoned.  Investigators from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office suspect that the windows were shot by pellets from an air rifle or similar device, apparently from a vehicle passing the bus.  The pellets did not penetrate the windows.

We have no idea whether this incident was related to the playoff victory or a completely random act.  The Niagara County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident and the District will continue to offer our complete cooperation.  As always, the safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority and we will continue to follow all the protocols in place to ensure their safety.

Michael J. Baumann

Superintendent

Newfane Central School District




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