Posted on 05/18/2005 11:54:31 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A pre-kindergarten student brought a handgun to school, where it was seized by a fifth-grader and turned over to the principal, school district officials said Tuesday.
The 5-year-old reportedly displayed the loaded weapon outside the Blanton Elementary School cafeteria where students were gathered before class. The fifth-grader recognized it was real and took it to the principal.
Investigators were trying to determine how the child got the gun, Austin Independent School District spokeswoman Carmen Luevanos said.
District police said they will pursue charges against the adult who allowed the student to bring the weapon to school. The adult was not identified.
A charge of making a firearm accessible to a child is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Luevanos said investigators do not believe the 5-year-old intended to harm any students.
"He just took it out to show other students," she said. "Their conclusion is the child was not really aware how serious his actions were."
How to impress chicks and compadres 101 .. NOT!
Somebody is in deep doo doo or will be shortly.
""Their conclusion is the child was not really aware how serious his actions were.""
Ya think? Maybe they should lock him up just in case and to send a message to other 5 year olds.
A Handgun in AUSTIN????
Who would have ever dreamed it?
Austin is the only liberal bastion in Texas. I thought that the last handgun in Austin had been turned into peace symbol pendants for necklaces for the masses long ago.
Next important question:
Is it OK to take an armed suspect away in handcuffs, even if he's only 5 years old?
a mouse trap, huh? EEEEK!!! LOL
I remember taking my new Daisy BB gun to school but that was in the early 60s, no big deal back then, but these are different times or so we are told to believe.
Not that I am advocating anyone in today's educational systems at any age to bring any weapons etc to school , mind you or that it should be tolerated.
However, maybe some firearms education might also be in order for the young 'uns too seeing as how a lot of their knowledge about firearms and their impact is what they see portrayed on media and 'entertainment' games anyway.
Fortunately, no one was physically injured.
The fifth grader may have had some previous experience with firearms. Even though it's Austin, it's still Texas. Even Austin has gun ranges, gun shops, and a nice little monthly gun show. In fact this school is only about a mile from the site of the gun show! :)
I actually have changed positions on allowing law-abiding concealed weapon carriers bringing guns to school. I used to be really opposed to that, but now I'm not.
I DO think that adults need to be very careful and teach their kids about guns and safety. My father had guns, but we never knew where they were nor did we ever get tempted to look.
The NRA has a good gun safety program for teachers to teach to kids. I haven't used it in my class yet, though I will probably next year. The police department here gives a series of lessons to the kids. One of those is all about gun safety.
I appreciate fathers who teach appropriate uses of guns to their children, especially when they take them hunting, a good family tradition to pass on as I see it.
I hear ya. I saw that butter knife thing. Ridiculous.
I suspect he will get a Police Commendation, or would hope so. That might seem a little excessive , but,, his action could have been life-saving too.
What's impressive is that a 5th grader had to courage to help take care of the problem.
The Brady Bunch still stops schools from holding an Eddie Eagle Program.
Fifth-grader confiscates gun from 5-year-old at Austin school
No injuries; weapon turned over to Blanton Elementary principal.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Police and school district officials said Tuesday that a fifth-grader at Blanton Elementary School confiscated a loaded semiautomatic handgun from a 5-year-old pre-kindergartener at the Northeast Austin campus after realizing the weapon was real.
No one was harmed during the incident, which happened about 7 a.m. as students waited outside the cafeteria for breakfast. The fifth-grader, whom district officials praised Tuesday, noticed the younger child displaying the gun, quickly grabbed it and gave it to Principal Leslie Dusing, police said. District officials and police would not identify either student.
Austin school district police said they were investigating who owned the gun, a .380-caliber handgun manufactured by Davis Industries Inc., and how it got into the younger student's possession. The person responsible will face criminal charges, police said.
Making firearms accessible to a child is a Class C misdemeanor, carrying a possible $500 fine.
School district police Sgt. Eric Mendez said the 5-year-old had never taken a weapon to school before or threatened classmates. Mendez said he believed it was "mere curiosity" and not a desire to harm that led the child to take the gun to school.
"He was just kind of showing it like, 'Here, look what I have,' " Mendez said. "I would strongly stress to parents: If you own guns, (minimize) that curiosity. When they are at a proper age, teach them safety - handgun safety, rifle safety — and that eliminates the possibility of being curious and wanting to get to something that they shouldn't get at."
The quick-thinking actions of the fifth-grade student likely averted tragedy in this case, but in general, parents should discourage children from handling weapons, Mendez said.
A letter from the principal about the incident was sent home with all Blanton students. In it, Dusing advised parents to keep any guns in the home locked up.
"Children are naturally curious and do not understand the dangers of guns," Dusing wrote. "As parents, one of our worries always seems to be such things as 'stranger danger,' and yet many children die each year of gunshots from families' weapons."
The pre-kindergartener was removed from class Tuesday, but school officials did not say whether the child would face further disciplinary action. Police said the matter has been referred to Child Protective Services.
This is the second time in less than a month that a gun has been taken to an Austin school. A Travis High School student was arrested after a security officer found an unloaded gun and ammunition. The student was taken to a juvenile facility and faces expulsion.
In October, campus police confiscated a loaded gun from a student at LBJ High School, the first time a gun had been found on a campus in more than a year.
Thanks!
So it was a .380? damn.
No trigger lock installed either, or so it sounds.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A pre-kindergarten student brought a handgun to school, where it was seized by a fifth-grader and turned over to the principal, school district officials said Tuesday.What's impressive is that a 5th grader had to courage to help take care of the problem.
Wait for the follow-up story, where they suspend him for being in possesion of a firearm
What's this world coming to? A parent being held responsible? How unique. So at what age does the child become responsible?
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