Student found with air gun at Beeson
Child isn't suspected of bringing gun to threaten others
Aldape said it didn't appear as if the girl had brought the gun to school in order to physically threaten anyone.
"The kids were safe at all times," she said.
Seth Eckelman, public information officer for Dodge City Public Schools, said a teacher found the air gun in the girl's backpack.
"It was in her backpack, she claims unbeknownst to her," Eckelman said.
Because the girl did not take the air gun out, and as it appears she didn't intend any harm, she was given a one-day suspension.
Eckelman said the Dodge City Police Department, along with SRS and school officials, were sitting down with the student as well as her parents to discuss the situation.
"It appears this was innocent," he said. "But in this day and age, you have to treat everything as a serious threat. You have to send a message."
The school day proceeded as normal after the discovery of the gun, Eckelman said.
He did say it was unclear how the gun was discovered by a teacher if the student never removed it from her bag.
Police Chief John Ball said another student saw the gun in the girl's backpack and alerted the teacher.
This isn't the first time a student has been discovered with a toy gun on school property in a non-threatening manner. Although it's not a common occurrence, Eckelman said it wasn’t unheard of for students to bring BB guns in for show and tell and similar instances.
Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9932 or e-mail him at
mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.
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