Cops Arrest 8-Year-Old Who Went To School With Loaded Gun

An 8-year-old was arrested yesterday after he tried to show a classmate a loaded gun he carried into a Long Island school. A third-grade teacher overheard the student bragging about the weapon and confiscated a semiautomatic handgun from the adolescent's desk, according to cops.

The boy arrived to class late at around 10 am with the gun in his backpack. After taking his seat, he moved the weapon from his bag to his desk and tried to get a classmate's attention "to show him the gun," Det. Lt. Matt Sullivan told Newsday. As the other student stood up to go to the bathroom, "the teacher saw the first boy gesturing to him and overheard some of their conversation." The teacher approached the boy, spotted the weapon, and took it.

It's unclear exactly how the child obtained the firearm, and it's going to be difficult to track the ownership of the .25-caliber Remington handgun through its serial number because the gun is so old. Investigators haven't yet determined if the gun — which had five bullets in its magazine, according to the Daily News — is even operable. If it found to be operable, the North Elementary School student's juvenile weapon possession charges might be upped to felony charges. A Brentwood School District spokesman said investigators believe the boy brought the gun from home, and they don't think he made any threats with the weapon. So far, no disciplinary decisions have been made, pending the conclusion of the police investigation.

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By Ben Muessig in News on January 21, 2010 10:45 AM

Comments [rss]

ladyjane

i have to say...i'm not surprised. 8 year old kid...i bet he watches whatever he wants on TV, listens to whatever music he wants and plays whatever "let me kill as many people as possible" video games.

this is how people are interacting with violence and weapons these days. and if you're 8, have never heard otherwise and are inundated with this crap all the time, you see a gun and it immediately triggers (no pun intended) some link to your favorite entertainment that NEVER EVER fully explore the consequences and dangers of carrying a gun and all the tragic possibilities that come along with it.

i don't think it's hard to see the trajectory from point a to point b.

LaliP

8???!!!

240Bravo

He has now got street cred.

Kelles

but he was really starting to turn his life around

oeuf

"He was good boy..."

Steven

Why does Gothamist continue to use Newsday???

The site is not free unless you're paying the Dolans for their crappy cablevision service.

Mr. Shankly

Grandpa is shitting a brick right now.

Sketto

Guns don't kill people; eight-year-olds kill people.

NannyState

I like the Newsweek cover better: "Why Johnny Can't Aim".

hotstepper

this will provide good fodder for his rap lyrics.

Mr Mel

Arresting an 8 year old for gun possession is ludicrous. The parents, guardians or whoever the child lived with are the culprits. I doubt that he found it on the street. It probably belonged to that infamous villain, the mothers boyfriend.