CLINTON HILL, Brooklyn — A 15-year-old student has been charged for allegedly bringing a loaded gun into his Brooklyn school on the first day, according to NYPD.
Police said school safety agents found the loaded pistol when the student put his backpack through the scanner at the Brooklyn School for Career Development Thursday morning.
The NYPD was called and the student was taken into custody. On Thursday afternoon, he was charged with 2nd degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Claudine Jones’ daughter goes to the school. She saw police taking the 15-year-old into custody.
“She said she doesn’t want to be here. She’s scared,” Jones said.
Gregory Floyd, the president of the union that represents the school safety agents, said this incident shows how much scanners are needed in city schools. Over the summer Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new protocols for removing scanners in some schools.
“Our safety agents want the metal detectors there because they know this is their first line of protection. Their is only line of protection,” Floyd said.
The mayor took a five borough school tour Thursday. He said no metal detectors or scanners would be removed in the immediate future. It would be up to the NYPD if it’s appropriate.
“Weapons in our schools is absolutely unacceptable and we will find them and we will take them away and there will be very serious consequences for anybody who brings a weapon into a school.” Mayor de Blasio said.
Department of Education Spokesperson Toya Holness said, “This incident is deeply troubling and we are working in close partnership with the NYPD as they conduct an investigation. The NYPD immediately responded and safely confiscated the weapon. Safety always comes first and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind in schools.”
According to the NYPD, a student at Transit Tech High School in Brooklyn also tried to bring a weapon into school. School safety agents found a knife on him. Police issued the student a summons.
