Man Charged in New York School Hostage Situation

A man took a principal hostage at a Dutchess County school Tuesday, but surrendered peacefully about two hours later, authorities said. No one was hurt.

Chris Craft, 42, of Stanfordville, walked into Stissing Mountain Middle School/High School in Pine Plains at about 7:45 a.m., cops said. He pulled out a gun and barricaded himself in the middle school office with Middle School Principal Robert Hess as a hostage.

SLIDE SHOW: HOSTAGE SITUATION

Members of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and the New York State Police Hostage Negotiation Team negotiated with Craft, and he surrendered just before 10 a.m., said Deputy T.J. Hanlon, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

"The communication and cooperation with other agencies and the school is why the situation was resolved successfully," said Sheriff Adrian "Butch" Anderson. "What's really important is that people know that their children are safe. Proper protocol was followed."

Craft was charged with kidnapping in the first degree and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail, authorities said. Court documents indicted that he told police he was upset about the "wrongful treatment of United States Military personnel."

Students were held at a nearby maintenance building until noon as a safety precaution. The Red Cross was at the scene to provide food.

Earlier, while the hostage situation was still going on, Pine Plains Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver told Fox 5 News that police and sheriff's deputies surrounded the office where the gunman was holding the hostage and that there was no way out. Pulver said no shots were fired.

Just before 10 a.m., an armored vehicle pulled up to the building, and authorities led a man wearing a black shirt from the building and put him into the vehicle. The armored vehicle then pulled across the street and Craft was moved to an ambulance.

The school is located at 2829 Church Street.

Witnesses said some students were evacuated from the back of the school and were walked, single-file, away from the school. None of the students was hurt.

People in the area said a lot of police vehicles racing down county roads starting at about 8:30 a.m. A perimeter was set up around the school.

The Sheriff's Office said that in addition to the State Police, members of the City Poughkeepsie Police, Town of Poughkeepsie Police, Dutchess County Probation, Pine Plains Police, Pine Plains Fire, Northern Dutchess Paramedics, Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, ATF, FBI, and the Dutchess County District Attorney's Office all responded to the incident.

According to the school's Web site, the school held a "hold-in-place drill" on November 5th. The administrators were assisted by the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department's K-9 Patrol. This allowed the school and the Sheriff's Department to practice for emergency situations.

The school is about 90 miles north of New York City. Pine Plains is described as a "quiet, small town."