Oct. 16 – A 12-year-old boy who brought a loaded gun to Shaw Middle School threatened to “blast” another student in the head before fleeing when a deputy tried to detain him, court documents say.
Spokane police responded to the school Tuesday morning, causing a brief lockdown. The boy was found in a field north of the school after an officer tried to detain him. The boy was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds.
Court records show another student skipped class and was hanging out with the boy near the stairs when she saw the barrel of a gun in his backpack. When she asked, he said he was holding it for someone.
The student criticized the boy for bringing a gun to school and responded, “If you snitch, the next time I see you I’ll shoot you in the head,” records state.
Another student who skipped class told police the boy showed her the gun and asked her not to judge him. He said he had it because another student was coming to the school, records show, but the police report gave no further details about the boy he expected to arrive at Shaw.
The second student who saw the boy’s gun reported the gun to her teacher, and the teacher notified the school resource officer. The officer found the boy in a room on the second floor of the school and tried to talk to him, but he resisted.
When the resource officer grabbed the backpack from JV’s back, he broke away and ran down the stairs, court records show. The 45-caliber semi-automatic Springfield pistol found in the backpack had bullets loaded in the magazine, but no bullet lodged in the barrel.
Auxiliaries at Spokane Public Schools are unarmed.
Police responded around 11:30 a.m. and officers were able to find the boy in the field during the temporary closure.
Bemiss and Regal elementary schools, On Track Academy and NEWTech Prep were also in the “protect and educate” protocol for about 10 minutes, according to an email sent to the schools.
Spokane Public Schools is encouraging students to speak up if they see something.
