Boy, 12, arrested for carrying loaded handgun into classroom

Cathy Scott

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:12 a.m.

A 12-year-old student at O'Callaghan Middle School was arrested Tuesday for carrying a loaded semiautomatic handgun into a classroom, Clark County School Police Department Sgt. Ken Young said.

The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, had taken his jacket off in the classroom, Young said. The teacher picked up the jacket to move it and noticed that it was heavy, he said.

"The teacher notified the administration and they found the gun," Young said.

School police arrested the boy and charged him with being a minor in possession of a firearm on school property and possession of a dangerous weapon on school property.

Young said investigators have learned that the gun was not stolen and belongs to an adult, who is not one of the boy's parents. How the boy got the gun was under investigation, he said.

On April 15, a .45-caliber loaded handgun was taken from a student on the campus of Western High School. The same day, a student at Bonanza High School was arrested and a loaded .25-caliber handgun was confiscated from him, Young said.

On April 16, a .45-caliber weapon was confiscated from a teenager who had gone onto the campus of Eldorado High School.

In March, an 11-year-old boy brought a loaded handgun onto the Kim Elementary School campus. The gun belonged to his parents.

Young conceded that students bringing guns onto campuses "is a problem, but I don't know that it's increasing. There's more visibility because of recent incidents reported by the media."

Police are continuing to increase their communication with students, he said. "That's our biggest tool."