'It's very disturbing.’ Gun found inside Brooklyn school just hours after similar Bronx incident
Sources close to the investigation say a staff member was notified that a student may have a gun, and that staff member called the authorities. News 12 was told the school safety agent searched the student and found a .380-caliber handgun.
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Police say they responded to Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday for a report of a gun inside the school.
Sources close to the investigation say a staff member was notified that a student may have a gun, and that staff member called the authorities. News 12 was told the school safety agent searched the student and found a .380-caliber handgun.
Police say the 17-year-old boy is facing charges like criminal possession of a weapon.
“That’s supposed to be a safe place for our children, and it’s not, which makes it sad," said neighbors like Lena Livingston.
It comes hours after a separate incident in the Bronx on Tuesday, when officers responded to Eximius College Prep School on Fulton Avenue in the Bronx around 11:15 a.m. for a 911 call about a student with a firearm.
News 12 was told a 15-year-old student was found with the gun. He was taken into custody, and the firearm was recovered.
The school safety officers' union tells News 12 a total of six guns have been recovered inside New York City Public Schools since the start of the school year in September.
Sources tell News 12 the Bronx school does not have a metal detector, and the Brooklyn school does not consistently scan.
Derek Jackson, director of the Law Enforcement Division at Teamsters Local 237, a union representing school safety agents, says more staffing and metal detectors are needed.
“It’s frightening. It’s very disturbing. This is a country where you have a lot of school shootings and massacres. And unfortunately, this is a city where young people have access to high-powered automatic weapons," said Jackson.
A spokesperson with NYC Public Schools sent News 12 a statement:
"The safety of all our students is our top priority. Weapons or violence have absolutely no place in or around our schools. These incidents are completely unacceptable and deeply concerning, and we are working diligently and taking every necessary step to ensure incidents like this do not happen. We are continuing to work in lockstep with our partners in the NYPD and our School Safety Agents, while working collaboratively to address these issues and maintain safe, secure learning environments for every student,” the statement read.
