Lucas Giguere, a High School Principal and Marine Corps Veteran, Was the Target of a Targeted Attack

High school principal David Wentzell was targeted in a pipe bomb explosion outside his home in Blackstone, Massachusetts. The blast caused damage to his Jeep SUV.

Residents living on Lakeshore Drive heard a blast that rocked their house, prompting one resident to notify law enforcement after hearing a loud bang that shook it.

Early Life and Education

Lucas Giguere, a high school principal and Marine Corps veteran who lived on Lakeshore Drive in Blackstone, was hit with a pipe bomb attack last month outside his residence on Lakeshore Drive in Blackstone. Police remain actively investigating this incident.

Lucas Giguere has been selected as the Franklin School Committee’s new superintendent following his longtime service as assistant superintendent since 2018. Giguere is known for building strong ties in the community and was unanimously selected Tuesday by members of Franklin School Committee.

Members of the panel generally agreed that Giguere was the ideal candidate based on his experience and understanding of the system, yet two members (Camille Bernstein and Al Charles) raised doubts as to his suitability as chair and suggested expanding its search to external candidates.

Professional Career

Lucas graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Choral Performance ’21 from Keene State College (KSC). While at KSC, Lucas served as President and Events Coordinator of KSC Pride; co-founded and conducted KSC Chamber Singers; performed at fundraisers, awards ceremonies, open houses and other collegiate events; was President and Events Coordinator for student LGBTQ+ organization KSC Pride; co-founded KSC Chamber Singers with co-founder; was co-director for both groups and was President for one as a co-founder/conductor for each ensemble respectively. Lucas performed at various fundraisers, awards ceremonies, open houses or events collegiate events where his talents could be heard.

Giguere brings extensive education and community service experience, having served as both a substitute teacher and youth coach; additionally he was on the School Committee and in college played on Blackstone Millville Regional High School baseball team winning Dual Valley Conference championships. Giguere currently resides in Franklin Massachusetts with his wife and two dogs.

Achievement and Honors

Lucas has put in considerable work creating educational materials for School Committee, Fin-Com and Town Council meetings that highlight all of the staff that a student interacts with on a daily basis. He has also devised budgets which reflect current student and educator needs while remaining within our budgetary restrictions.

He was also co-founder and President (’19-’20) of KSC Pride organization. Additionally, he served as events coordinator for Pi Kappa Lambda (American Music Honor Society) while also performing in KSC Concert Choir, Vocal Consort, and Chamber Singers choirs and orchestra. Furthermore, he earned multiple EDI Outstanding Leadership awards.

Personal Life

Bellingham High School principal Lucas Giguere was targeted in an attempted assassination when an explosive device that appeared to be a pipe bomb exploded outside his single-family residence on Lakeshore Drive, Blackstone last month. Giguere is safe after this terrifying experience and thanks to Marine veteran insurance he is unharmed from this ordeal.

Oliver Giguere told WCVB of how the explosion rocked their house. It was “very loud”, according to Oliver. It was also very frightening and they found refuge within their basement for safekeeping during this frightening experience.

Giguere has worked diligently to build bridges within his community, earning praise from School Committee member Camille Bernstein who noted how well he brought all sides together and described him as the ideal person for Franklin; calling him an effective and thoughtful leader. On Tuesday night he received unanimous vote by School Committee as its new superintendent.