Loaded guns showing up in younger hands at area schools

Local kindergarten student among those found with firearms.

For the second time in as many days and the third in about four months, a juvenile has brought a loaded handgun to one of the region’s schools.

A school resource officer recovered a loaded gun from a student at Edwin Joel Brown Middle School Wednesday after students spotted the student with the gun on the school’s playground, according to a Dayton police report.

Officers responded to the school, 31 Willowwood Dr., around 2:30 p.m. after receiving a report from the school resource officer, the report showed.

While questioning the 14-year-old student, the gun, which was loaded with four live rounds, was found tucked into the front of the student’s waistband.

Earlier this week, a kindergartener ended up with a loaded pistol in his book bag and carried it right into his Timberlane Learning Center classroom in Harrison Twp., according to a sheriff’s report. The boy knew right away there was a problem when he found the gun mingled with his homework.

“Oh, no my dad left his gun in my bag,” the child told his teacher, according to the report, which describes the weapon as a Ruger LCP .380 caliber pistol with one magazine inserted.

No one was hurt in the incident at the Northridge School District facility devoted to preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Last October, police say a Middletown third grader who said he was being bullied purposely took a loaded 9 millimeter handgun to class at Rosa Parks Elementary School.

An alert teacher spotted a bulge the student’s pants pocket and confiscated the gun.

The 9-year-old was first held in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center but later released.

Jerron Dean, the boyfriend of the third-grader’s mother was charged with endangering children, a misdemeanor.

Dean failed to properly secure the gun, giving the boy access to it, according to Middletown police Lt. Scott Reeve.

In this week’s Montgomery County case, sheriff’s investigators spoke to both the kindergartener’s mother and the man who drove the boy to school. The man said the child had his book bag under the seat of his pickup where he typically puts his gun when he goes to-and-from work. The boy “must have pushed it into the open/unzipped backpack,” the report describes the man as saying.

The man has a valid CCW permit and neither he nor the boy’s mother have a criminal history according to the report. Neither were charged with a crime.

Last summer, a freshman at Fairmont High School in Kettering was arrested when an unloaded gun was found in his backpack. The teen later agreed to enter a plea of responsibility.

A Beavercreek freshman startled a lunch period last May after allegedly firing a cap gun multiple times at Ferguson Middle School.

"Even if they think it was a joke or prank, they need to be aware of the seriousness of their actions and how it affects other people," said Beavercreek police Capt. Chad Lindsey.

While those incidents ended without harm to students or staff, the same is not true of other recent incidents in southwest Ohio.

About a year ago, police rushed to West Liberty-Salem High School for a report of student who opened fire inside the school. They arrived to find Logan Cole wounded by a shotgun blast allegedly fired by Ely Serna.

Serna was charged with multiple felonies including two counts of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty due to reason of insanity, but the court has ruled him competent to stand trial.

Almost two years ago, 15-year-old Austin Hancock opened fire on fellow students at Madison High School in Butler County, hitting two. He was sentenced to serve time a juvenile facility until his 21st birthday.

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