Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992 TAG: 9203020146
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The boy - who eventually surrendered the gun to a school custodian - did not threaten to harm his teacher or other students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, according to Lt. Roy Lemons of the Rocky Mount Police Department.
"He told them he was not going to hurt them," Lemons said. "He's just a confused kid who's got some problems. He felt unwanted and unloved. I don't think that was justified - it was something in his mind.
"He just wanted to give up."
Lemons interviewed the student before he was committed Friday for a psychiatric evaluation. The youth - whose name was not released because of his age - also faces charges of brandishing a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.
Meanwhile, school officials will resume counseling today for students who were in the world geography class.
Lemons gave this account of the incident:
About 11 a.m., the student asked permission to leave the classroom and go to his locker. He returned a few minutes later, walked to the front of the classroom, and pulled the gun from a bag.
He asked the teacher, Nancy Chewning, to leave the room. She asked if he would harm the other students, but he simply pointed the gun at her and ordered her to leave.
Chewning did as she was told - a decision that school officials said helped diffuse the situation.
"It was a wise thing to do - not to provoke," Superintendent Len Gereau said.
Chewning ran down the hall for help and ran into custodian O.L. Turner, who looked into the classroom and saw the boy loading the gun.
After knocking, Turner opened the door and persuaded the boy to put the gun on the teacher's desk.
As the boy collapsed in tears, classmates ran screaming from the room.
Lemons said the boy got the gun from home. The weapon was locked, but the boy found the key.
Gereau said the incident underscored the need for parents to keep guns in a secure location.
by CNB