Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 20, 1995 TAG: 9501200094
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It happened late Tuesday afternoon, when a game of show-and-tell involving four Botetourt County youths turned dangerous.
A 16-year-old brought a small-caliber handgun to school, stashed in a boot. After showing it off to friends, the 16-year-old gave the gun to a 17-year-old student.
Later in the day, the 17-year-old sat in the back seat of a car in a downtown Buchanan parking lot, spinning the gun on his hand. It accidentally went off, Sgt D.A. Dudding said.
But that's not the story the youths initially told him, Dudding said.
Instead, they claimed the 15-year-old was using the bathroom on the side of the road when a shot rang out from nowhere, ripping through the 15-year-old's thigh.
But further investigation found that story was untrue, Dudding said.
The 17-year-old faces charges of reckless use of a weapon, filing a false police report and possession of a firearm on school property.
The 16-year-old also was charged with possession of a firearm on school property. The wounded 15-year-old was charged with filing a false police report, as was the other youth in the car.
Three of the juveniles are James River High School students, and the other is a Lord Botetourt High School student, Dudding said. One is a girl.
No information was available on how seriously the 15-year-old was wounded. However, Dudding did say doctors were unable to remove the bullet.
The two teens who were charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds have been suspended from school for 10 days, said Clarence McClure, Botetourt County school superintendent. Those students also may face expulsion.
McClure is consulting with the school's lawyer before he makes his recommendation to the School Board.
by CNB