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Large police presence near Helena school; one juvenile dead

Police presence near Capital High School in Helena
Posted at 2:02 PM, Nov 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-12 21:09:52-05

HELENA — Lewis & Clark County Sheriff/Coroner Leo Dutton reports that the manner of death for the deceased juvenile was suicide. The deceased was a student at Capital High School. MTN will not be reporting the identity of the student.

"Our deepest condolences from everyone in my office to the family," said Dutton in a statement.

Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz released the following statement:

Dear Helena Public Schools Community,
It is with much sadness that I write to let you know that a male student at Capital High School died this afternoon in a single incident across the street from the campus. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
We ask that you please respect the family’s privacy as they reach out to loved ones. We will make information available next week on how the family wishes to be supported by our Helena Public Schools community.
Additional counseling staff are on site now at Capital High School and will continue to be available for students and staff on Monday. Now is a good time to check in with young people in your life who may be affected by this tragedy. We will continue to share details on student support resources as they become available.
Please take care of yourselves and your families this weekend.
Respectfully,
Rex Weltz
Superintendent, Helena Public Schools

If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out. The Montana Suicide Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 or you can text “MT” to 741 741. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also click here to visit the website of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

MTN Statement: We don't typically report on individual acts of suicide. Instead, we focus on the issue as a whole and how leaders and members of our community are addressing the epidemic of suicide. However, there are times and circumstances where we need to look beyond our guidelines. We chose to report this story based on many factors, including - but not limited to - the age of the individual, the proximity to Capital High School, its impact on the school, and the time of day the incident occurred. Suicide is a serious public health issue in the community and we want to be transparent about how, when, and why we report on this important topic.



(1st REPORT) Police responded to Capital High School and cordoned off Helena Nazarene Church Friday following the death of a juvenile on Friday.

Police received calls around 12:30 p.m. of a potential active shooter at the high school.

When officers arrived they found a young juvenile male deceased at the church, just across the street from the school.

Police say it was an isolated incident, and there is no danger to the public.

Police presence at Capital High

The situation sparked immediate action from the school, with a brief lockdown until 1:30 p.m.

The identity of the teen has not been released at this point, and the Helena Police Department is investigating.

We will update you if we get more information.