A freshman student at Central West High School in Fresno County is in juvenile hall after being arrested for allegedly carrying a loaded gun and more than 50 bullets on campus.
This incident comes less than a week after the tragic school shooting in Connecticut.
“We don’t know why, but this kid made a bad mistake. Very bad timing,” said Chris Curtice of the Fresno Co. Sheriff’s Dept.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Curtice outlined the very scary set of circumstances that took place at Central West High School Thursday.
He’s says just before noon, a student noticed a 14-year old freshman boy playing with ammunition. The witness then reported his behavior through the school’s crime stoppers program. Moments later, administrators and the sheriff’s deputy on campus confronted the suspect in his classroom.
“Immediately handcuffed him and moved him out of the room, away from anyone else. While they were searching him they discovered a 25-calibur semi-automatic handgun which was loaded and he had more than 50 rounds in his pockets. Some were loose, some were in a box,” said Deputy Curtice.
There were no reports of the student pulling out the gun or making threats toward anyone.
“It was just good that the student didn’t do anything with the weapon and it was good that he was removed in a timely manner,” said Mike Berg, Superintendent of Central Unified School District.
With visions of the shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary so fresh in everyone’s mind, this raised concerns of ‘what if.’
“I was a little freaked out,” said Michael, a Central West student.
We spoke to a central west student and his father who did not want to appear on camera. They told us they were not happy with how the school handled its notification process. The father, Randall, says he learned about it by watching CBS47’s 6 p.m. newscast.
“They don’t make it real publically known. Even the central unified website today doesn’t state anything about what happened here,” said Randall, Michael’s father.
“There were no announcements about it. There was no lockdown, nothing. Just the word got around from other students,” said Michael.
Randall just appreciates the student who spoke up, which potentially saved people from getting hurt.
“Kudos to that child. That’s what people, even adults need to start doing. When they something that doesn’t sound right, doesn’t look right, hey take action and tell somebody,” said Randall.
Investigators are still trying to determine the student’s motive for having the gun. The boy faces two felony charges, four misdemeanors and will likely be expelled from school.