Overnight gunfire behind New Franklin School in Portsmouth investigated

PORTSMOUTH — City police and school department leaders are investigating after an unidentified person fired a gun behind New Franklin School early last Friday morning.

Portsmouth Superintendent of Schools Zach McLaughlin and Police Chief Mark Newport released a joint message Monday to school district students, families and staff regarding the incident.

Last weekend, a person walking along Myrtle Avenue found shell casings near the tennis courts behind the elementary school, according to McLaughlin and Newport’s announcement. The Portsmouth Police Department call log for Saturday, April 6 notes police took a report for a suspicious item around 9:30 a.m. that day, though the log does not identify the reported item in question.

City police began to investigate the shell casings and through school surveillance footage found a person had discharged the weapon around 2:30 a.m. Friday behind the school, according to McLaughlin and Newport. That person was not immediately identified.

“The police do not currently believe that this act represents a threat to the school,” their Monday message reads. “It is still disconcerting, and the School Department will continue to assist the Police Department to identify the suspect involved.”

While the investigation continues, Portsmouth police will have an increased presence around the New Franklin School campus, officials said.

Members of the public with information about the incident are asked to contact police Capt. David Keaveny at (603) 610-7511. Keaveny did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

The investigation at New Franklin comes one year to the week after Berwick, Maine, resident Kyle Hendrickson was arrested for allegedly threatening on social media to carry out a shooting at Portsmouth High School. Hendrickson has pleaded guilty to federal charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14 in Concord, according to court records. 

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Federal court records show Hendrickson has not agreed to any plea deal with prosecutors at this time.