A 13-year-old student is facing six separate criminal counts after deputies say he brought a loaded, stolen handgun onto the campus of Evergreen Junior High in Houma and threatened to shoot a classmate who saw it. The discovery triggered a lockdown Friday, September 25, as school staff and Terrebonne Parish deputies searched the building before finding the boy hiding in a boys' bathroom.
According to WWL-TV, the teen faces terrorizing, menacing, aggravated assault with a firearm, theft of a firearm, illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile, and carrying a firearm at a school. Fox 8 reported that school officers first learned Friday, September 25, that a student on campus might be carrying a weapon, prompting administrators to lock down the school while staff and deputies searched for him.
Deputies eventually located the student in a boys' bathroom and moved him to a private area of the school, where a search turned up a loaded handgun tucked in his pants, per the same Fox 8 account. A student witness told investigators the boy had shown him the gun and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone, the station reported. Detectives have since taken over the investigation.
Stolen Firearm at the Center of the Case
Investigators believe the handgun had recently been stolen from a relative's home, according to Fox 8's reporting.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet addressed the incident directly, saying a loaded firearm and a threat against another student demanded an immediate response. He commended school resource officers and administrators, according to WWL-TV, for securing the campus quickly once the threat was reported.
The boy was booked into the Terrebonne Parish Juvenile Justice Complex. He remains in custody as the case moves through court, and the sheriff's office is not releasing his name because he is a juvenile.
What Louisiana Law Says About the Charges
The boy faces a terrorizing charge, one of the six counts brought against him.
Separately, carrying a firearm on school property or within a firearm-free zone is a felony punishable by up to five years at hard labor under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:95.2, according to the Ikerd Law Firm. Louisiana law also separately criminalizes juvenile handgun possession: under Revised Statute 14:95.8, anyone under 18 who knowingly possesses a handgun faces up to six months for a first offense, with escalating felony penalties for repeat violations, per the Barkemeyer Law Firm.
Parents Could Face Civil Penalties Too
Louisiana's newer school threat legislation also puts financial pressure on parents and guardians. Guidelines published by the Louisiana Department of Education in July specify that parents or legal guardians of students who commit terrorizing or menacing on school property face civil fines between $5,000 and $10,000 and may be required to reimburse emergency response costs.
Evergreen Junior High serves grades 7 through 8 with an enrollment of roughly 622 to 665 students within the Terrebonne Parish School District, according to Ballotpedia.
Open questions remain in this case, including how the teen accessed the relative's firearm. For now, the sheriff's office says the case is in the hands of detectives as it proceeds through the juvenile court system.
