Surfers are right: everything comes in threes. Last week we had three stories on gun twirlers who somehow managed to shoot themselves (what are the odds?). This week we’ve got three stories about schools cracking down on kids with guns—despite the fact that one of them was a NERF-style dart gun, one was was safely stored in a pickup truck and one of them isn’t even a gun . . .
“A Colonial Heights Middle School pupil faces disciplinary charges after police said he brought two live .22-caliber rifle rounds to school today,” 2.timesdispatch.com reports. “Police said they could not charge the boy with bringing a weapon to school because bullets are not considered a weapon unless the loaded into a gun. However, authorities were exploring other possible charges that could be filed, said Colonial Heights police Sgt. Robert Ruxer [above]”
This time, thank God, there was a lockdown . . .
A school administrator found the bullets in an upstairs bathroom stall about 9:15 a.m. and notified the school’s police resource officer, Ruxer said.
The school principal then locked down the school and police and school administrators initiated a two-hour search that included a Virginia State Police explosives detection dog, Ruxer said.
Authorities searched all school lockers and all 700 students with hand-held metal detectors.
“Where there are bullets, there could be a gun,” Ruxer said. No additional bullets or a gun was found.
After further investigation, authorities were able to identify the student who brought the bullets to school, which is comprised of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.
“We’ve not had any previous incidents like this and believe this is an isolated incident,” said Colonial Heights Superintendent Joseph O. Cox Jr.
“Cause if there was ANOTHER bullet, or TWO students brought two live rounds to school apiece, well, can you imagine?
When I was younger a 9mm round went through the wash and transferred from my dad’s pocket to become entangled in the threads of my sister’s skirt. She went to school and felt something in the waistband of her skirt. Imagine her surprise when it turned out to be a bullet! She calmly showed it to her teacher who ushered her off to the Principal’s office. The simply called my father who told them what had obviously happened. She went back to class and my father retrieved the bullet when he picked her up later that day.
No freaking out, no SWAT team and nobody kicked out of school. All because people used common sense, remained calm and understood it was an accident. I understand the need for caution, I really do, but there are better ways to deal with these situations.
My GF’s teenage son inadvertently brought a .22 cartridge to school. It was a keepsake given to him by his grandfather who recently died. The kid didn’t know that he had it on him. He discovered it at the same time that his teacher did. The teacher told him to put it away and not worry about it. No lockdown. No arrest. No insanity.
Mt. St. Joseph College in Cincinnati is in LOCKDOWN today because they discovered a threatening letter! I wonder which of the 26 it was. “M” always has looked a little suspicious and you never could trust those; if it was “Q” . . . well, you know he always hangs out with “U”.
Not to mention “Y”… sometimes a vowel, sometimes a consonant, never to be trusted.
This stuff happens all day, every day, all across the country.
Depending on the aggregator(s) you visit, on the average school day you’ll see one or two of these incidents. Keep in mind that most news doesn’t make the news.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020104097.html?nav=hcmodule
This leaves out all the arrests for silly fistfights, or the kid caught with cigs (or hang-em-high!) smoking. Let alone some poor kid with a joint.
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