Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 10, 1994 TAG: 9402100166
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But the student, whose name was not released, could face criminal prosecution under Virginia's concealed-weapon statute, authorities say.
Will Stacey, headmaster of the private school, said the high school senior brought the gun to school following a disagreement with another student at an off-campus party.
Stacey said the 18-year-old, who has been expelled, wanted to let the other student know he had a weapon in case that student kept threatening him.
School officials found the unloaded .22-caliber pistol stashed in the pocket of a coat, which was in a bag. Stacey said the student did not have any bullets with him.
Virginia's statute governing the possession of firearms on school grounds does not apply to unloaded guns carried in "closed containers."
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney F.W. "Skip" Burkhart said the language of the statute makes it more difficult to enforce.
"I don't think the wording is appropriate," he said. "I don't think it helps the situation of kids carrying guns in schools. I think the General Assembly ought to look at it."
Gov. George Allen, who campaigned heavily on a law-and-order platform, has said repeatedly that he wants to rid Virginia schools of guns.
Conviction on the possession statute is a felony, while carrying a concealed weapon is a misdemeanor.
The case is raising questions about the legal obligation of school administrators to report weapons on campus to police.
Stacey said he was told by a prosecutor that he was not required to report the incident.
Bill Broadhurst, an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Roanoke County, said he never offered such advice and that the incident should have been reported.
After learning of it on Wednesday, Burkhart asked Roanoke County police to investigate. Police had not been notified previously about the gun on the North Cross campus.
Police Lt. H.A. Phillips said Stacey had called last week requesting information on the law governing someone who carried a gun onto campus.
Phillips said the headmaster never indicated that he had found a gun.
Broadhurst said Stacey had talked to him only in broad terms about a policy he was developing and never mentioned the student with the gun.
"You've got to report it if a kid brings a gun onto school property," Broadhurst remembered telling Stacey. "It doesn't matter if it's loaded or not. They need to be reported, because these are crimes."
Stacey said that was not his understanding, and he made a decision not to report the incident.
"If the child had threatened someone, it would have been a completely different matter," he said. "My basic tendency is that I have nothing to hide. I was trying to protect the child and the child's reputation. We normally never talk about disciplinary matters in a public forum. "I did everything I could to look out for everyone's safety."
by CNB