Officials Erred In McGlynn Gun Magazine Incident, Law Firm Says

MEDFORD, MA – Law firm Foley Hoag has released the findings of its independent investigation into the discovery of a loaded gun magazine in the McGlynn Middle School auditorium in December, which subsequently went missing and was not reported to police and city officials until mid-February.

The report concluded then-principal Jake Edwards and former superintendent Roy Belson did not treat the situation with "the gravity it deserved" and lacked proper judgment in their response.

"A weapon on school property, even a component part of a weapon, necessitates immediate action from those in charge, but Edwards and Belson waited over a month to alert the appropriate authorities," the firm wrote. "Even then, they did not act of their own volition – rather, they were forced to re-engage with the situation when rumors of the magazine reached the public."

According to investigators, a cleaning crew found the loaded magazine in the auditorium Dec. 29 and gave it to McGlynn custodian Daniel Tully, who put it in Edwards's office. Sometime between that day and 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, it was either lost or thrown out.

Edwards, who claimed he never saw the magazine, still should have reported it to police, attempted to find it in one of the school's trash bins or followed up with employees who handled it, the investigation determined. Belson, investigators said, was remiss in treating the weapon component as a "low level threat" instead of looking into the broader security concerns its discovery raised.

Edwards was placed on paid administrative leave in February and is no longer employed by the Medford Public Schools. Belson, now retired, has previously said he was wrong not to report the magazine to the mayor and chief of police.

Read Foley Hoag's full report below:

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