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Vermont police department apologizes after visiting students witness simulated robbery, shooting
A Vermont police department has apologized for a mock shooting that took place at the station while students were there as part of a school program.
The Burlington High School students were visiting the Burlington Police Department through a school Year End Studies, or YES, forensics program.
The mock shooting was a “roll-playing (sic) scenario” where three members of the Burlington Police Department simulated “a robbery scenario,” according to a news release from the department.
The simulation was “not directed at any students or faculty,” the department said, but was witnessed by the visiting students. One student told local outlet the Vermont Public she did not know about the planned scenario. She said that during the simulation, two screaming women burst into the room, followed by a man in a ski mask. The simulation was accompanied by gunshot sounds, the student said.
Burlington Police
“It was laughed about afterwards,” she told the Vermont Public. “(It) just made it feel like a prank, basically — not much of a demonstration.”
The department said that it had communicated the plans for the simulation with school officials.
“On 23 May 2024, police department staff and YES program staff communicated about the details of the scenarios, including saying that the training incident would involve ‘using fake firearms in a mock shooting. Do you think that sort of incident would be ok for your group of students? It is about as real life as you can get, and is certainly exactly the sort of thing we deal with most frequently,'” the department said in the news release.
“YES Program staff responded, ‘I think these students will be fine with this simulation. We will give a heads up to parents and students,'” the department continued.
The Burlington School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News.
The police department said it would meet with students Friday to talk about the presentation and its impact. The mother of a student told local outlet Seven Days that she feared the incident could exacerbate children’s fears around gun violence.
“I’m baffled,” she told the publication. “It is a very real threat to kids these days to have a school shooting. It’s something they worry about.”
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.
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