Good, Bad: H.S. student arrested with gun at school; informer not believed

[ccw9mm]

Here is an interesting situation. A kid at a Portland, Oregon, area high school brought a firearm to school in a bag and showed another kid that he had the gun. That other kid went home and told his parents, who did not believe him. Ultimately, the message got through and the student was arrested.

One would think such things would be taken much more seriously. If you've got kids, think very hard about failing to listen and understand just how bad it could be.

Student Arrested After Bringing Gun to School

Washington Co. Sheriff's Office - 09/24/10

Summary of Event

Washington County Sheriff's Deputies responded to Banks High School on reports that a student may have a gun. Sheriff's Deputies responded, located a student in possession of a gun, and arrested him. He was charged with several crimes.

Full Details

On September 23, 2010, at about 10:30 am, Banks High School principal called the Washington County Sheriff's Office to report that a student made threats the previous day to shoot two students at school.

Deputies immediately responded to the school and met with administrators.

Deputies found a handgun in a backpack belonging to Austin Cox, age 15, of North Plains. He is a sophomore at the school. Deputies were able to quickly confirm there were no other students that posed a danger at the school. The initial investigation revealed that Mr. Cox was upset with two other students and threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot them.

It appears that Mr. Cox had actually shown another student the gun on a previous day. That student reportedly went home and told a parent about the gun but was not believed.

Sheriff's Deputies learned that one of the students told their parent about threats the previous night and were told to notify the school the next day. It is not known if Mr. Cox had planned to shoot another person. The Sheriff's Office praises the Banks High School for their swift action to avert a potentially dangerous situation.

Austin Cox was arrested and lodged in the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention facility in Portland. He was referred on the following charges:

· Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
· Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in a Public Building
· Menacing

This case is still under investigation.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office encourages parents and students to immediately call 911 in these situations. Law enforcement will investigate and determine if the threat is viable.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HKinNY]

A few weeks ago my 7 year old nephew at school,minding his business when a kid in his class walks up to him and said." I have a gun and after class I am going to shoot you. My nephew told the teacher who told the vice-principal. The boy did NOT have a gun. All talk. The VP calls the boys down to the office. He spoke to my nephew first. He told him the details. The second boy told the VP that he did not remember what he said. After a few additional questions the boy broke down and told the truth. Both set of parents were called. The VP told my brother that my nephew was not upset but to discuss it at home tonight. The other kids father informed the VP that there was no firearms in the house and the kid does not have access to any. He had no idea where that comment came from but will speak to him at home. But now adays you can npt be to cafefull if a comment is passed by a 7 years old. You can never be to sure with anybody.

[ccw9mm]

What amazes me is that this is Oregon. It's the place of the Springfield massacre back in 1998 (parents murdered, two students dead, 22 wounded). It's the place where more than just a few incidents of guns at school have occurred in recent years. It's the place where a handful of situations have been identified and stopped before they could occur, in which teens were planning massacres at their schools. To have such pie-in-sky thinking and disbelief of one's near-grown kids when they call out for help by notifying adults of threats to their very lives? God, it's hard to find the words for such stupidity. I can see where a kid might have a tough time understanding whose side they were really on, being so unwilling to consider such a threat. Thankfully the school's leadership took it seriously. I'm surprised, though, that the police let it ride until the next day, calmly suggesting they contact the school the next day. Who knows what could have been in the works.