15-year-old takes gun to Raymer Elementary
3/23/2013A 15-year-old Raymer Elementary School student bought a gun on the street and took the loaded weapon to school Friday, police said.
The boy, an eighth grader, is being held in the Lucas County juvenile detention center, charged with carrying a concealed weapon, underage purchase of a firearm, possession of a defaced weapon, conveyance of a deadly weapon in a school zone, and violating the safe school ordinance.
He will likely have a detention hearing Monday morning, court officials said.
School officials were helping another student look for a jacket at 2:20 p.m. — about an hour before dismissal — when the assistant principal, Melissa Zervas, felt the weapon in the pocket of a sweatshirt, said Patty Mazur, Toledo Public Schools spokesman.
Officials contacted school resource officers, who took the .380-caliber handgun, police said.
Ms. Mazur said no threats were made.
Police added that the student did not brandish the gun; the student also told police he is not in a gang.
Ms. Mazur said the school’s principal, Barbara Ferguson, used the new parent-notification system to make calls to parents of Raymer students, informing them of the gun found at the school.
Students standing outside the school after dismissal were surprised to hear about the gun.
“You really don’t know what’s going on around here,” said 12-year-old Jordan Peace, a sixth-grade student at Raymer.
This is the second time in little more than a month that a Raymer student has been accused of having a weapon on or near campus.
In the first incident, on Feb. 15, a 9-year-old third-grade student was seen showing a BB gun to a classmate while walking to school. The BB gun was never taken onto school property, police have said.
Erroneous television news reports of a gun at school in February caused parents of more than 160 students to pull their children from school. There are 571 children enrolled at Raymer.
Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.