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Greece school staffer arrested after allegedly pointing gun in school parking lot dispute

The Odyssey Academy in Greece went into lockdown Wednesday morning just as the first day of school was underway.

A school employee was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at someone in the school’s parking lot on Wednesday morning. It was just before 8 o’clock.

The Greece Police Department identified the suspect as Olga Martinez, 39. Police said it started with a traffic dispute on Mount Read Boulevard and both cars pulled into the school parking lot.

A Greece Central School District spokesperson said Martinez was a food service worker and is no longer employed by the district.

According to police, Martinez had entered the building after the argument without the gun, which they found loaded in the glove compartment of her car. She has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor.

Police said she had a valid pistol permit. However, state law bans anyone from carrying a firearm on school grounds unless they are law enforcement or security in certain circumstances.

In a message to families, district administration said students were never in danger and that the school day resumed uninterrupted.

“Greece Police worked with our security team to identify the suspect and determined that the weapon was never taken into the school,” The message to families stated. “This is not the news we want to be sharing on the first day of school but we hope you can take some solace in the fact that our security system worked.”

The lockdown reportedly lasted about ten minutes. A district spokesperson said roughly 700 students and 200 staff and teachers were reported to be inside the building at that time.

Noelle E. C. Evans is WXXI's Murrow Award-winning Education reporter/producer.