Massachusetts school bus with kids hit by pellet gun

A school bus in Worcester, Massachusetts, loaded with children, was hit by a man shooting a pellet gun.  Luckily, no one was injured.  Motive is unknown.

From an article:

Police tell the Telegram & Gazette that a 10-year-old boy sitting next to the window that was struck said he felt something strike the side of his head, but paramedics did not find he had any injury. 

School safety liaison Robert Pezella said the elementary school bus carrying 18 students was two stops from the end of its route when it was struck. He said the students were frightened, and parents came to pick them up. 

Police said the bus driver was unaware of what happened. 

Police said a witness told officers a man pointed an object at the bus, and the window shattered. The man reportedly ran away.

.

11-year old boy threatens 9-year old in Virginia School with BB gun

An 11-year old boy brought a realistic-looking BB gun to school with him, at the Fred Lynn Middle School in Woodbridge, Virginia.  He then used the gun to threaten a 9-year old boy.

From an article:

Prince William County police said they were called to Vaughn Elementary School in Woodbridge on Monday to investigate an altercation between an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy that occurred on school grounds after school hours on Friday. Police said that during the altercation the 11-year-old, who is a sixth-grader at Fred Lynn Middle School, displayed a BB gun to the 9-year-old and pointed it toward him. 

The altercation occurred outside the school building but on school property. Police said no shots were fired and no injuries were reported. 

The 11-year-old juvenile has been charged with brandishing a weapon on school property and assault and battery.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Pellet gun and knives found in Stockton elementary school

A pellet gun was found in an 8th-grader's backpack, in a Stockton, California school, as well as knives in a 7th-grade classroom.

Additional security precautions are being put in place.

From an article and news video:

Cleveland Elementary School went on lock down to find a gun on campus Friday morning.

School district police said a group of young students told authorities they knew of a "big kid" who brought a gun to school. Police started searching 8th grade classes, where they found a plastic air pellet gun in a student's backpack; later, police searched 7th grade classes, where they found even more weapons.

"They went through our backpacks and they found a kid with two knives he was sitting on," 7th grade student Lucia Gomez said.

Just two weeks ago, a real gun was brought into Van Buren Elementary School by two 7th grade students. Stockton school district police said if children are going to be arming themselves, they're going to take stronger steps to keep those weapons out; starting with bringing in more metal detectors.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

14-year old Indiana boy brought stolen gun onto school bus

A 14-year old boy with gangster ties, in Portage, Indiana, was witnessed with a handgun on a school bus. The gun had been stolen from an 18-year old boy.

Another boy, age 12, had also been witnessed on the bus with a BB gun.

From an article:

The boy, who earlier in the week had been suspended from school and arrested on a possession of marijuana charge, is facing charges of dangerous possession of a firearm, a misdemeanor, and criminal gang activity, a felony.

According to police, School Resource Officer Greg Coleman received information Monday from a student that the student saw two other students on the school bus the previous week with handguns. During his investigation, Coleman contacted one of the students, a 12-year-old, who admitted possessing a BB gun last week at school. The student led Coleman to the BB gun, which he had hidden outside of his home. He was expelled from school.

The student then told Coleman that a second student had a real handgun.

On Wednesday that student was identified and Coleman made contact with the 14-year-old boy's mother, who gave Coleman and fellow School Resource Officer Mike Candiano permission to search her home. Officers located a handgun between the mattresses of the boy's bed.

The boy was brought by his mother to police for questioning and allegedly told police he had stolen the handgun two weeks ago from an 18-year-old friend in Gary. The boy also allegedly told police he was actively involved with the Gangster Disciples and their gang activity. He was arrested and transported to the juvenile detention center.

Note that the boy who brought the real gun onto school property is charged only with a misdemeanor for that offense, but a felony for having gang association.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

14-year old Connecticut boy brings Airsoft pellet gun to school

A 14-year old boy was caught on the school bus showing off a realistic-looking Airsoft pellet gun that he was bringing to school.

From an article:

Police said a 14-year-old boy was showing off a fake firearm. They described it as an airsoft style pistol. 

Students said he painted it black. 

"He pretended that it was a real gun and some people were a little scared, but then they found out later it was a fake gun, so the worry kinda subsided," Gardner said. 

"Like I wouldn't know if it was a real gun or not, so I would probably stay silent, but props to the kid who told his parents," Leichgman said. 

Students say police greeted the freshman at school after some quick thinking of a fellow student who texted his parents of when he saw the unloaded weapon. 

It's situation students say they're taught how to react to. 

"Throughout the year we have lock-downs, just once every couple of months, and just so we know how to handle it and what to do," Jablonski said. 

The child is charged with Possession of a Weapon on School Grounds, Carrying a facsimile firearm, and Breach of Peace.

As we have demonstrated here at Kid Shootings, pellet guns and BB guns, particularly realistic-looking Airsoft guns, have been used to intimidate, rob, injure, and even kill, including in schools.  These are not toys.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

17-year old brings BB gun to Maryland school

A 17-year old boy was found with a BB gun at a school in La Plata, Maryland.

From the article:

A 17-year-old boy was arrested after he was found with a BB gun at a Charles County high school, authorities said.

Wednesday at about 9:45 a.m., a tipster reported to Crime Solvers seeing a student with what appeared to be a handgun in a classroom at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf. Deputies found a BB gun in the suspect's coat pocket, and they also found that the suspect was in possession of a box cutter razor knife, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.

The teenager was charged with carrying a weapon on school property, authorities said, and was released into parental custody. 

Charles County Public Schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson said parents received an email about the incident and that, generally, students who are caught with a gun could receive a suspension or an expulsion.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

School bus window shattered by BB gun-wielding boy in North Carolina

A school bus transporting 12 kids and two adults back from a track meet had a window shot out by a boy with a "BB gun pistol."  Luckily, even though two kids were sitting in the seat next to the window, no one was injured.

From the article and news video:

Police say a juvenile playing outside with a BB gun accidentally shot a Beaufort County Schools activity bus Wednesday night. The gunfire shattered a window on the bus that was carrying the Northside High School track team. 

School system spokeswoman Sarah Hodges says no students were injured and fast thinking of the driver, who is also coach at the school, got the students out of harm's way. 

Hodges says the bus was on its way back to the school after a meet at Southside High School and had 12 students and two adults on-board. 

Lt. William Chrismon says it happened on John Small Avenue. He said the bus driver immediately left the area and got the children to a safe location. 

Chrismon says they are still investigating, but the case has been referred to juvenile authorities.

Ohio school bus with kids shot at with BB gun in drive-by

An Arts & College Preparatory Academy school bus had just left its school in Columbus, Ohio, laden with 23 students, when a white car drove up and shot at the bus with a BB gun.  Two bus windows were shattered, but no one was hurt, luckily.

From the article and video:

“We just heard the window shatter and nobody knew what happened,” a student, who was not named, said. “Then everybody started freaking out and moving to the other side of the bus.”

The students were transferred to another bus, and the bus that was shot was taken for investigation, 10TV News reported.

The bus driver reported seeing the BB gun shooter in a white car, Mallett reported.

One mother, who requested anonymity, had a message for the person who fired shots.

“The people who think it is okay to do these kinds of things, think,” the mother said. “Think before you act, because innocent people can be hurt. Thank God these children were okay.”

.

Guns found at Yorkville High School, New York

Two teens were found to have guns at school at Yorkville High School in Yorkville, New York.  One boy had a shotgun in his car, along with drugs.  Another had a pellet gun in his locker.

From the article:

Police used canine units to search the school, as part of a regular sweep of the school grounds. There had been no threats or incidents to prompt the search.

Police found one boy was in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The boy then indicated he also had a shotgun in a case in his pickup truck which was parked in the school’s lot. Police said the weapon was legally cased and stored, but it was against the law to bring it onto school grounds. The boy also had a pocketknife, police said. The boy was charged with unauthorized storage of a weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana possession, police said.

Police said a pellet gun was found in another student’s locker. That student was charged with unauthorized storage of a weapon and possession of ammunition without a Firearm Owner’s ID card, police said. Both students were taken to the Kendall County Jail.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

10-year old Ohio boy brings BB gun to school to "fend off bullies"

A 10-year old boy was caught with a BB gun at an Elmwood Place, Ohio elementary school.

From the article:

Police say a 10-year-old Ohio boy told them he brought a BB gun to school to intimidate students who bullied him because he wears ankle braces and is small for his age.

The Cincinnati Enquirer ( http://bit.ly/d3rIUB ) reports he'll be charged in juvenile court with inducing panic for taking the BB gun to his elementary school Monday in suburban Elmwood Place.

Officer Leah Schindler says a principal reported Monday that a handful of students saw the weapon. Schindler says the children believed the gun was more powerful than a BB gun, and one said the boy threatened to fire it.

Schindler says the boy reported getting the gun from his mother.

The newspaper says the boy's mother didn't respond to an interview request, and school officials couldn't be reached for comment.

From a related article:

A 10 year old boy in Ohio has been charged with the delinquency count of inducing panic after bringing a BB gun to school to fend off bullies. He had been ‘stuffed in a trashcan’ the previous year and was being bullied about his small stature and ankle braces.

The police were called by the Elmwood Place Elementary School in Cincinnati, near the end of the school day after he received reports from at least five children that they had seen the boy with the gun. Police Sergeant Kevin Vanover noted that the plastic orange tip had been broken off to make the gun look more authentic.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Teen at Oakland High School brings "replica gun" to school

A teen boy was caught with a realistic "replica gun" at Oakland High School in Oakland, California. 

From the article:

A student at Oakland High School who brought a replica gun to school was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, according to school district spokesman Troy Flint.

It was a parent who alerted the school administration to the apparent security threat. While dropping her child off at school in the morning, she noticed a boy showing what looked like a gun to three other students near the school, Flint said.

Hours later, after the student was identified, he was called out of class and taken to the main office. He denied possessing a gun, but a search revealed a fake weapon in his pant leg or boot. School district police took the teen into custody shortly after 1:30 p.m., Flint said.
....
This is the second weapons incident at the high school in a less than a month. In late March, a student was playing with a weapon he had brought to school when it discharged in his classroom; no one was hurt, but the bullet came close to hitting a classmates leg, according to reports made to the Oakland school district police.

"Replica gun" is often a term used for realistic BB or pellet guns, like Airsoft guns.

18-year old with Airsoft gun at elementary school causes school lockdown

West Main Elementary School in Ravena, Ohio, went into lockdown when an 18-year old young man was seen with a handgun.  Police arrived and found that the young man had a realistic Airsoft pellet gun tucked into his pants.  No excuse was given for why he had the gun with him, or why he had it on the grounds of the elementary school.

From the article:

The Ravenna Police Department took the man into custody within three minutes, Honkala said. Police discovered he was carrying a pellet gun.

Vincent A. Keen, 18, of Ravenna, was arrested and charged with inducing panic, illegal conveyance and trespassing, all misdemeanors, according to Ravenna police. A black-and-silver airsoft pellet gun, resembling a handgun, allegedly was found tucked into the waistband of Keen’s shorts.

Honkala praised police for the quick response. He said the first officer on scene immediately took control of the situation.

“We appreciate the responsiveness and the communication of the police,” Honkala said.
By the time the man was spotted and 911 was called, some of the students already had left for the day. Honkala said the school dismisses students who ride with their parents first, then students who walk to school. Last to leave are students who ride the bus.

Honkala said those students were lining up outside when the man was spotted. Teachers and administrators got the students back into the building and into lockdown.

.

Teen fires BB or Pellet gun from school bus, shattering car window

A teen leaned out of a moving school bus in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and fired a BB or pellet gun, shattering the window of a parked car.

From the article:

Residents already upset over the recent violence in the city say shots fired from a BB gun Monday afternoon at Fifth and Woodbine Streets disturbed them even more because the shots came from a school bus.

Pellets from a BB gun pierced the window of a car at the corner. Police confirm a student riding a school bus with kids on board fired the gun as they rode from school Monday afternoon.

“I blame the school bus driver because you kept on going, you didn't have the decency to pull over, to see who did that,” stated a clearly frustrated Sharon Turner. “You heard the shots your self, everyone was running there were babies over there it just ain't safe.”

Sharon Turner says people grabbed there kids, they didn't know it was pellets at first.

“This is the first time, there's been a calm around here except what happened today it's shocking to me,” Turner added.

Shocking because of where it came from. The car’s owner who did not want to go on camera said a Harrisburg School Principal came to the scene to apologize.

Turner says her home already has bullets from real gunfire last summer. She wants Harrisburg Police to bring back beat cops to Fifth and Woodbine like they did in other parts of the city who walk the neighborhoods and get to know the residents.

“If you have that type of security up here people would think before they do things,” Turner concluded.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

17-year old Massachusetts youth brought Airsoft gun to school and used it to threaten

A 17-year old brought a realistic-looking Airsoft handgun to school, in Reading, Massachusetts, apparently using it to threaten another person.

From the article:

Reading Police were notified by school officials that a former high school student reportedly showed up on school grounds on March 29 carrying what appeared to be a hand gun. After a subsequent investigation, the gun was located and turned out to be a replica air soft gun of a real Sig Sauer hand gun.   

The 17-year-old Reading youth was arrested and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds, possession of an air soft pistol under 18, threatening to commit a crime, trespassing, intimidation of a witness, possession of alcohol and possession of a class c substance. 

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Child brings BB gun to school in Dexter, New York

A child created a scare when he brought a BB gun to school in Dexter, New York.

From the article:

According to General Brown Central School District Superintendent Steve Vigliotti, a child brought a BB gun to school on Tuesday and showed it to fellow students on the bus as they were going home. 

A student told his mother that he saw a gun and the woman brought it to the attention of school officials on Wednesday morning. 

Vigliotti said the district investigated the incident and took appropriate action. 

He said state police are continuing their investigation. 

It was originally reported that the child brought a toy gun to school, but officials determined it was actually a non-functioning BB gun.

.

8-year old uses pellet gun to threaten boy on bus and extort money

An 8-year old in Glen Park, New York, used a realistic pellet gun to threaten another boy on his school bus and extort $20 from him.

From the article:

The juvenile has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon by a person under 16 and is facing action in Jefferson County Family Court and with the county Probation Department. A pellet gun was confiscated from the child, police said.

The incident occurred Tuesday, police said. After displaying the gun to another youth on the bus, the boy threatened to shoot the gun if he did not give him $20, police said.

The victim apparently promised to bring money with him the next day, police said, and he complied. But the victim’s parents also informed school officials, who called troopers Wednesday morning, according to General Brown Superintendent Stephan J. Vigliotti Sr.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

5th-grader brings BB gun to Philly elementary school

A 5th-grader brought a BB gun to school, in Philadelphia, and shot another child in the leg.

From the article:

The student began playing around with the gun, according to the spokesman. The spokesman also said the student shot another 5th grader in the leg though it did not leave a mark and the student was not injured.

A teacher noticed the student with the gun and informed an administrator. The student was reprimanded and suspended from the school. While no one was injured, investigators say some students were crying and distraught while the student displayed the pellet gun.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Wichita man points gun at bus full of kids

A 16-year old reported that a man rode by and pointed a handgun at her and the school bus she was riding, which students were getting onto, in Wichita, Kansas.


Police caught up with the 28-year old man and found a realistic-looking "a black CO2 BB/pellet-style gun in a backpack."


From the article:

As police handcuffed him, they say he became combative and kicked an officer in the leg. The officer was not injured. 

After questioning him downtown, investigators say they determined the man did point the gun at the bus. 

He was booked for two counts of aggravated assault, one count of battery to a law enforcement officer and for possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. 

A police spokesman did not know the motive for the incident.

.

16-year old boy caught with pellet gun at school in Baton Rouge

A 16-year old boy at a school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was caught with a pellet gun while in a fist fight.

From the article:

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said the pellet gun was discovered after a fight between three students at the Baton Rouge Acceleration Academy on Cadillac Street.

Deputies said the principal of the school called security at the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board a little after 7 a.m. to report the incident.

Investigators said the gun fell out of one of the student's pants during the fight.

They added he didn't give a reason for having the pellet gun or make any threats.

He was charged with illegal carrying of a handgun on a school campus and disturbing the peace by fistic encounter.

He will be booked into the Juvenile Detention Center.

Authorities said the other two students involved in the fight were also charged with disturbing the peace by fistic encounter.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Gun found at school in San Tan Valley, Arizona - second time in a week

For the second time in a week, a gun has been found at a school in San Tan Valley, Arizona.  The first had been an Airsoft pellet gun.  The second was a real one.

From the article:

According to Dana Hawman, Director of Public Relations, an older model black Monte Carlo drove through the school parking lot at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday.

Three baseball players reported hearing a student say he saw someone in the car holding a gun. They told a school administrator, who called 911.

Pinal County deputies stopped the car and arrested the person inside, who did indeed have a gun.

No shots were ever fired and no one was hurt.

"Our thanks go to our students who did the right thing by reporting the incident, and to the Sheriff's department for their quick action. Student safety is of utmost importance, and the actions today prove that it is a collaborative effort and priority for all," stated Hawman.