A 15-year-old Capital High School (CHS) student from Olympia was detained on the morning of Wednesday, September 6 for bringing a concealed firearm onto the campus.
Yesterday was his first court appearance at the Thurston County Juvenile Court.
Reports from Kiro 7 and Komo News said that according to the Olympia Police Department, CHS staff contacted the police after receiving a tip that a student had allegedly brought a concealed firearm inside the school.
The teenager was reportedly seen by another observer with a handgun concealed in his waistband.
Authorities arrived at the school, but the student ran.
The ensuing chase resulted in the adolescent being tazed after allegedly reaching for his waistband where the gun was concealed, and captured by the responding police.
The student was brought to Thurston County Juvenile Detention after police found a loaded handgun concealed in his pants.
The student was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm on school premises and resisting arrest.
K5news said he has a prior charge from around six months ago for “pulling” a butcher knife on people in a grocery store which resulted in the judge deciding to revoke his bail.
"It is the court's expectation, and my observation, that most people on pretrial release will be on their best behavior and the allegations here are quite the opposite, putting the respondent and the community, especially at a school, in significant risk of harm," said Judge Lanese, in detailing his decision to revoke bail.
CHS has made an announcement on its website and stated that “there were no reports that the weapon was ever displayed, nor were any students or staff threatened with the weapon.”
The teen has since appeared in court, where his previous bail was revoked and he will now be put in jail.
In the wake of the student bringing a gun on the first day of classes at Capital High School yesterday, a parent is calling for the installation of metal detectors at the school.
Lindsay Wonder, a mother of two kids who attend the school, said the incident should never have happened.
“A reactionary crisis response is not a safe facility,” Wonder said to K5 News.
K5 news said Wonder is asking the Olympia School District to install metal detectors in schools to prevent guns from entering campuses.
“We don’t have a secure perimeter,” Wonder said. “We don’t have anything keeping this from happening again the exact same way, or worse, nothing.”
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HarveysMom
The teen was charged 6 months ago, but he was on pre-trial release now. So he is not as yet a convicted person, right?
I'm a neighbor of the high school, and over 30 years time, I know of only two or three other truly dangerous incidents. Granted that this one was very dangerous, I still think that it shows that, in general, the current system is working. So I disagree we need to fence and control the perimeter of the schools, as if it is a jail.
Rather, the young man's parents still need to be brought to the task of training their child in morality as well as in safe and legal gun ownership. And I do think at least juvenile detention is in order. Put a criminal in jail, not all the rest of us.
Saturday, September 9, 2023 Report this
WayTooOld
Well said, HarveysMom.
Sunday, September 10, 2023 Report this