THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280604
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
For the first time in five years, a student has been caught at school here with a gun.
Shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, police said, a 17-year-old Nansemond River High School student pulled a gun on a male classmate with whom he had fought at a school bus stop that morning. No shots were fired, police said.
The student allegedly fled from a school hallway where the confrontation occurred and hid the fully loaded .22-caliber revolver. Another student saw him and alerted an administrator, who then told school-based police detective A.L. Weaver, a district spokeswoman said.
Students were ordered to remain in class until the situation was under control. A little more than an hour later, the gun was found under a vending machine, officials said.
The student came to school armed despite repeated warnings from administrators about the consequences. Despite the assigning of a police detective to Nansemond River. And despite district safety measures, such as random use of hand-held metal detectors.
Reports of guns found recently at Virginia Beach schools have been widely publicized. On three occasions in the past week, guns have been taken from teenagers in the parking lot of Salem High School. Security was stepped up at Salem on Wednesday and Thursday, with police and school guards screening all cars and visitors.
But it's been years since Suffolk officials last reported a student in possession of a real gun on school property.
Willie F. Gary, a community activist whose grandson attends Nansemond River, said the community has to be part of the solution to the problem.
``Churches, civic leagues and other parts of the community need to go back to having community meetings and involving parents in those meetings instead of pointing the finger,'' he said Thursday. ``We also need some community projects and more programs at the schools to get our kids involved so they can relate to one another.''
Nekita Swain, a 14-year-old Nansemond River sophomore, said, ``People need to wake up because guns show up all over.'' The incident ``surprised me a little bit,'' she said, ``but guns are everywhere these days. I guess there's nowhere to hide.''
She and several other students said that although Wednesday's incident startled them, they weren't afraid of going to school.
The 17-year-old - enrolled in a program for at-risk students who have fallen behind academically - was recommended for permanent expulsion. He was charged with brandishing a firearm, a misdemeanor, and possession of a firearm while on school property, a felony. The student with whom he allegedly fought, a 17-year-old sophomore, was suspended for fighting, the spokeswoman said.
School was closed Thursday for a teacher work day. Administrators will use hand-held metal detectors today to check students for weapons.
``My first reaction is disappointment, because evidently we haven't gotten through to all the kids to make them realize that we don't want this happening and this is not the way to solve problems,'' said Alvin Anderson Jr., president of Nansemond River's PTA. Anderson, who has a son at the school, said he still considers it ``relatively safe.''
``Do you blame 500 kids for what one kid did?'' he asked.
At John F. Kennedy Middle School, sixth-grade teacher Mary Wynn and several colleagues have tried to become better connected with parents so students will stay on track: Parents receive complimentary letters each week if their children are well-behaved in class.
``When you promote things like that,'' Wynn said, ``it gets the parents' attention and helps the kids act better.''
Public schools, Gary said, should also be a place ``for all kinds of adult education programs to help unify and educate parents'' when the regular day ends.
``We find the money to incarcerate children, we can find the money to do these other things,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff Map
KEYWORDS: HANDGUN NANSEMOND RIVER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT by CNB