Student accused of taking gun to Start

Toledo high school locked down 3 hours

4/28/2014

Start High School was locked down for several hours Monday after a student took a loaded gun to school and authorities received a tip, proven erroneous, that a second person there also had a gun.

Willie Carter III, 18, of 1928 Brame Place was arrested in Start’s cafeteria area about 11 a.m. by a Toledo Public Schools officer.

Police found a 45-caliber handgun and seven bags of marijuana on the student after a struggle, Toledo police Deputy Chief Don Kenney said.

Carter was charged with three gun-related crimes, resisting arrest, and drug trafficking.

Deputy Chief Kenney said Carter is affiliated with the Lawrence Blood Villians gang, a Bloods-affiliated street gang that claims territory on the Old West End’s outskirts near Hollywood Boulevard, Maplewood Avenue, and Lawrence Avenue.

Police and school officials said police received a tip that Carter had a gun.

The officer confronted the student in the cafeteria area and a struggle ensued. Court records show Carter resisted the officer and only complied when the officer pulled his own gun.

The student never brandished his gun, Deputy Chief Kenney said.

After Carter’s arrest, police received a tip that another person at Start might have a gun.

They locked the school, began a search of lockers and student bags, and established a perimeter around the school, blocking Start’s driveway entrances. A K-9 unit was called in to help search.

Students were held in their classrooms during the three-hour lockdown, then led through a metal detector. No other weapons were found, but a student was arrested after leaving his classroom and refusing to return there when confronted by police, Deputy Chief Kenney said.

TPS Superintendent Romules Durant said an automated call was sent to parents to tell them of the lockdown. He said school officers and staff reacted as they should.

“We take any accusations seriously,” he said. “The school immediately jumped into action.”

Carter has been convicted of felony burglary in juvenile court, according to court documents.

He is to be arraigned at 9 a.m. today in Toledo Municipal Court.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.