Officers from Suffolk police’s Kestrel team remain stationed outside Kesgrave High School to offer reassurance to pupils and their families following the shooting of a Year 11 pupil.
The team, which formed earlier this year, has been stationed outside the school following the horrific incident in the town on Monday, September 7.
The pupil, who is aged 15 and was allegedly shot in the face, remains in a critical condition in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
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Although detectives are treating the shooting as an isolated incident, a police presence is set to remain outside the school in the coming days to provide reassurance to local families.
In a tweet yesterday, staff at the high school praised students for their handling of the incident.
The tweet read: “Students have been simply amazing today. Calm and focussed in class and clearly glad to be back in school.
“A very difficult time for the school community but all supporting each other.”
Increased police patrols in the Kesgrave area will continue over the coming days and officers are providing residents with reassurance, listening to concerns and reiterating the fact the shooting was an isolated incident.
The constabulary will also have a police pod located in Through Jollys that will provide a strong visible presence to local people, with officers present between 8am and 9.30am in the mornings and 2pm and 3.30pm in the afternoon.
Residents can ask questions or raise queries, allowing police to continue to listen and understand concerns of the community.
Officer support is also coming from the local Safer Neighbourhood Team, Community Engagement Officers and Youth Engagement Officers.
Additionally, School Liaison Officers are working to provide bespoke engagement within schools that identify a specific need as a result of this incident.
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