Parents Alarmed, Supt. Says He's Understaffed, After Boy Brings Gun To Yonkers School
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- There was a renewed call Wednesday night for safety when it comes to preventing violence in schools.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, parents and educators alike were alarmed after a 9-year-old Yonkers boy was accused of taking an unloaded gun to school.
At dismissal time Wednesday at P.S. 13 in Yonkers, parents were clutching an official notice of reassurance one day after the shock.
"I was afraid. I was scared," said parent Chantel Phillips. "Because I don't -- like, a fourth grader with a gun?"
"It just shook me up," said Victoria McFarland, the sister of a student. "Shook me and my family up that this actually happened."
The boy left school property in an unmarked police car Tuesday afternoon, after an unloaded 9mm handgun was discovered in his backpack. The school said Yonkers police officers were efficient, and appropriately restrained given the circumstances.
"The police department was simply magnificent as they relate to intervening with a young person, because that's what it's about," said Yonkers School Supt. Dr. Edwin Quezada. "The young person made a mistake, and it's what we do in order to ensure that that young person will be OK."
The school has a staff of security officers, but no metal detectors -- it is, after all an elementary school. Alert students and teachers discovered the gun as part of a culture of "see-something-say-something."
Quezada said a full time psychologist or social worker might have spotted the student's problem before it got to the point that it did.
"The psychologist is part time; social worker is part time," Quezada said.
Right as the gun incident was unfolding back in Yonkers, Quezada was in Albany presenting a worksheet showing his small school staffing numbers up against what he says he needs. He and his staff are begging for a change in the state funding formula that treats his city as if it were a wealthy suburb.
"I am absolutely in desperate need of additional psychologists, additional social workers, additional counselors," he said. "You've never seen that in New York City, right?"
In the short term, though, Quezada and school parents want to find out what has been going on in the gun-toting 9-year-old's home.
"I know that he's a little kid, but you know, the family, they're responsible," said parent Alex Gomez. "How are they keeping weapons in their house? It's no good."
The child has been suspended and is facing criminal charges in Family Court. Both the school district and the police have asked Child Protective Services to investigate.
The boy also faces a superintendent's hearing to determine if and when he can return to school.