8-Year-Old Student Brings Loaded Gun To School In Crown Heights
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An 8-year-old student brought a loaded handgun to school, prompting a police response in Brooklyn on Friday morning.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, it was around 11:35 a.m. in the middle of Spirit Day at P.S. 91 The Albany Avenue School, at 532 Albany Ave. in Crown Heights. The boy was discovered with a loaded .380 Taurus handgun, police said.
The children were in the schoolyard enjoying the nice day when the teachers asked the children to sit on their book bags, but one of them refused. He was acting strange, and they questioned him and opened the book bag.
In it, they found the gun with four bullets in the clip.
Police questioned the boy at the 71st Precinct, 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman reported.
No shots were fired and no injuries were reported.
City Department of Education spokeswoman Toya Holness said in a statement that the department is working closely with the NYPD as they investigate "this deeply troubling incident.''
"Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind," Holness said.
A note went home as pupils were dismissed from school, and parents arriving at pickup Friday afternoon were shocked.
"It's disturbing to hear that an 8-year-old boy brought a gun to school -- a loaded gun?" one parent said.
"Maybe they need more security -- they have none," another said.
Some parents flat out said their children would not be returning to P.S. 91.
"My kids ain't coming back here," one mother said.
"I would have to reconsider for the next school year if there's not any extra precautions taken," another mother said.
School safety officers were as alarmed as anyone. The union head, in a statement, blasted the powers that be.
"This is yet another example of why we need metal detectors in public schools," Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd said in the statement. "What don't Mayor (Bill) de Blasio and Chancellor (Carmen) Fariña understand?"
The Department of Education said it is working closely with the NYPD, adding: "Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind."
But parent Shawnte Griffith called the incident at P.S. 91 "devastating," and also worries about the family now dealing with a child who brought a weapon to school -- regardless who's to blame.
"I hope that for the boy and his parents that everything was resolved, you know, because that's where the underlying issue is," Griffith said.
The child and his parents were talking to police late Friday.
