NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A 16-year-old student faces several charges after bringing a gun to school and robbing another student of his BB gun.
On June 1, a Menchville High School school resource officer was informed of the robbery.
After being informed of the incident, the resource officer and security guard found the teen walking in the hallway and detained him.
The school resource officer found a .380 caliber handgun and the alleged stolen BB gun. Police say the .380 handgun was reported stolen from Hampton.
"I'm very scared for my son, not only my son, but the other young kids that go to school," says Cateni Johnson, a Menchville High School parent. "You would think that once your kids leave home to go to school it would be safe, but it's just not that way anymore."
The teen has been charged with one count each of robbery, possession of a firearm on school property, under age possession of a firearm, having a concealed weapon, possession of a stolen firearm, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He is being held in juvenile detention.
According to the Director of Public Information, Michelle Price, the student who brought BB gun to school and the student who had the handgun are both facing expulsion.
Price says the incident happened close to dismissal at 2:05 p.m., and there was no indication that there was any danger posed, or that the weapon was being displayed or used in a threatening matter.
Some parents tell News 3 they wish they were notified earlier in the day.
"To have it at our school and not to have any kind of knowledge until after school hours, yeah, that's a little bit disappointing," says Jennifer Baum. "Six o'clock is a little too late for us to make a judgement call for us to go pick up our kids so that's ridiculous."
Price says the call likely went home in the evening hours to ensure that parents were home from work and could get the message.
