UPDATE: Toy Gun Forces Lockdown At Chester High School
By David Madden
CHESTER, Pa., (CBS) -- Chester High School was in lockdown for about a half hour Tuesday after a student was found to be carrying what looked like a handgun.
Turns out it was a toy, and the student is now facing misdemeanor charges as a result.
One student informed a teacher that he saw what turned out to be an air gun stuffed in another student's backpack. The offending student was taken into custody for a short time, and charged with possession of a weapon on school property, a first class misdemeanor.
Chester police at first were shocked to learn that the suspect was not held for a hearing, but county detectives, and their boss, suggest the law, and circumstances of this case, dictated otherwise.
"Since this weapon is an Airsoft BB gun and not a firearm, it doesn't qualify under the law to have immediate detention," Delaware County DA Jack Whelan told KYW Newsradio.
Had the youth taken the gun out, circumstances would be different, and he'd likely be facing a 3rd degree felony that would have allow for his immediate detention.
Whelan suggests it might be time to revisit the law in question, and allow for detention of a suspect with a toy gun on school property, particularly in urban areas like Chester.
