11-Year-Old Brings Gun To Doral School
DORAL (CBS4) - A student brought more than his books to class this morning at Jon I. Smith K-8 center in Doral; the youngster was packing heat.
According to Miami-Dade schools spokesperson John Schuster, the student, 11-years-old, had a hand gun in his possession.
The fifth grader, a "special needs" student, apparently brought the weapon from home and the gun somehow came to the attention of the classroom teacher.
Schuster said he did not know if the child displayed the weapon in the classroom.
The boy's teacher called the school's principal, who in turn called Miami-Dade Schools police. School officials left it to police officers to confront the boy and retrieve the pistol.
Police then took the child into custody.
Parents were stunned to learn of the incident. One mother said she fears for the safety of her children, given what she called "an increasing number of these types of incidents."
Another parent said she was incredulous that the boy, with special needs, was in a position to be able to get the gun.
"Parents have got to pay more attention," the mother said.
A number of parents were at the school for an end of the year fiesta-themed party.
"Thank God that there was no tragedy," one mother said.
School officials did not release any further detail regarding the boy and the gun.
Friday's incident comes one week to the day after another child was shot in a Southwest Miami Dade classroom.
At Redland Middle School, sixth-grader D'Angelo Marte was shot in the leg, when a gun went off in a back pack that another student had dropped to the floor. Marte's wound was not life-threatening.
A fast-thinking fellow student applied a tourniquet to the boys leg to staunch the bleeding. The student who brought the gun to school is being dealt with through the juvenile justice system.
