NEW YORK – Just days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers inside an elementary school in Texas, officials at two New York City-area schools discovered that the students brought firearms into the school.
In Brooklyn, a ghost gun was found outside the Street Academy school. The gun was found around 11 a.m., when a student told Bedford-Stuyvesant school officials that her 16-year-old boyfriend had put the firearm in a bag outside the school, according to a law enforcement source. .
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education told our sister station NBC New York that NYPD school security officers “immediately and safely recovered this item, which was found off campus, after a concern expressed by a member of the school community.
Just days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers inside an elementary school in Texas, officials at two separate New York City-area schools discovered that students brought firearms to school.
In Brooklyn, a ghost gun was found outside the Street Academy school. The gun was found around 11 a.m., when a student told Bedford-Stuyvesant school officials that her 16-year-old boyfriend had put the firearm in a duffel bag outside the school, according to a police source.
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education told NBC New York that NYPD school security officers “immediately and safely recovered this item, which was found off campus, following concern expressed by a member of the school community.
It was the 21st weapon found inside a New York school this academic year.
“A small percentage of young people are doing the wrong thing. And we must come together and rid our city of this unfortunate weaponry,” said Rampersant. “Young people arming themselves to hurt each other.”
It wasn’t the only weapon found at a New York-area school on Thursday, as three students in Yonkers were found to have passed around a BB gun. The students, all seventh graders at Cesar Chavez School which serves kindergarten through eighth grade, were seen with the gun by classmates, who in turn told school staff.
“Police responded immediately and three youths appear to have been involved in passing the BB gun,” Yonkers Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada said.
The BB gun was not believed to be loaded. Yonkers police said they anticipate charging one or more of the students as juvenile offenders. However, Quezada said that it is the adults who must also take action.
Schools won’t be safe places for children if we adults don’t come together,” he said, urging parents to be more mindful of what their children are doing. “They should be vigilant about what children are writing, saying, social networks. Open your children’s bags, see what they can take to school.”
Police told NBC New York that “in light of recent events locally and nationally, parents can expect to see additional resources in and around our schools,” but added that the situation was under control and there are no additional gifts for students or the school. .
Quezada said the school does not have metal detectors and has no plans to have one, calling it a sad development after the tragic events in Uvalde, Texas.
–
