Arlington Parents Meet With School Officials On Gun License Incident
ARLINGTON (CBS) – Parents and neighbors of the Stratton Elementary School in Arlington are upset they weren't notified sooner about an incident that resulted in a father being banned from the school.
Robert Goodwin was banned from the school after he showed his gun license to Principal Michael Hanna during an argument at the school.
Goodwin said the argument was over a picture his son had drawn at school that the principal found to be very inappropriate.
The incident occurred Wednesday and the school sent an email to parents from Superintendent Kathleen Bodie on Friday.
There was a police presence at the school and Monday afternoon the superintendent held a closed-door meeting with parents to discuss the incident and apologize for not addressing the issue sooner.
Some neighbors and parents say they should have been told sooner.
"I think it should have been much more prompt," Shaileen Pokress said. "I don't think I should have found out from an email chain."
One parent told WBZ-TV's Paul Burton the incident is "very disturbing."
"If you're presenting something open-handed like that, that you have a license, there's got to be a problem."
The 41-year-old Goodwin says he is not a danger and was not threatening the principal.
"When I left, apparently he had no recourse but to say that I threatened his life, which I did not," Goodwin said.
Police revoked Goodwin's gun license as a precaution and removed his hunting rifle from his home.
Goodwin has not been charged with anything. He has withdrawn his son from the school.
After the meeting with parents Monday, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie ordered a review of incident notification procedures. In a statement, Bodie says the policies will be revamped and implemented by the start of the new school year.
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