A 15-year-old student at Long Island City High School was arrested after a school safety agent broke up a fight and discovered a loaded handgun in the teen's backpack. Police say the student was taken into custody and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, and officials stressed that no one was hurt and the building was quickly secured.
City school safety agents stepped in to stop a cafeteria brawl shortly after 11:10 a.m. on Jan. 12, then searched the student's bag and found the loaded gun, according to CBS New York. The outlet reports that officers were called to Long Island City High School and that the teen was detained at the scene.
Police from the 114th Precinct arrested the 15-year-old at the school building at 14-30 Broadway in Astoria and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon, local reporting says. QNS adds that the recovered handgun was loaded and that authorities discussed the incident with school leaders.
School officials say students were safe
The city schools system told reporters that the weapon was quickly recovered and repeated its stance that "weapons have absolutely no place in our schools or our city." The statement, reported by QNS, noted that additional security and supports would be offered to the school community. Officials emphasized that students and staff were safe after the discovery and said investigators were coordinating with school leaders as they followed up.
What the charge could mean
The teenager faces a charge of criminal possession of a weapon, a serious allegation that will move through the juvenile justice system because of his age. New York law and recent court rulings allow prosecutors to treat 13 to 15 year olds as juvenile offenders for certain violent felonies, including firearms possession on school grounds, which can keep a case in criminal court rather than sending it to Family Court, legal analysis and state court opinions show. New York courts and practitioners note that the school-grounds exception is narrow but significant.
Part of a wider pattern
Reporters pointed out that this arrest came during a stretch of weapons recoveries at schools across the city that same week, including another student who was found with a gun in Manhattan earlier that morning. CBS New York reported on several of the separate incidents and noted that some of the schools involved did not use metal scanners at their entrances.
Police say the 15-year-old remains in custody and that charges are pending while the NYPD and school officials continue their inquiry. Because he is a minor, authorities have not released his name, and the Queens district attorney's office has not yet said whether it will seek to have the case treated in juvenile-offender status.
