MIDDLE SCHOOL GUN CAME FROM PARENT

The gun brought to Maplewood Middle School last week, resulting in a lockdown and arrest of a seventh-grader, was a legally purchased firearm owned by the student's parent, Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino said Monday night.

Cimino confirmed the origin of the gun during a lengthy Town Hall meeting of parents, school district officials and township leaders that included hours of discussion and residential comments about school violence in reaction to the MMS incident and a similar weapons arrest at Columbia High School.

"The Maplewood Middle School gun was a legally obtained gun owned by the parent," Cimino told the crowd of hundreds who packed the MMS auditorium. "That gun is now in our custody, the parent has been charged with failing to properly secure a weapon and the child was charged with the proper weapons offenses related to their activities in bringing the gun to school."

The 13-year-old seventh-grader, who has been removed from the school and charged with several related counts, brought the gun to school last Wednesday and was arrested after other students informed school officials of the situation. He allegedly brought a 9 mm. loaded Glock pistol to the school.

A day later, on Thursday, a CHS student was charged with bringing an airsoft gun and a knife to school, sparking a code yellow situation there and the student's later arrest.

Cimino offered no other information on motives of either student, but indicated that the MMS student's family was not cooperating.

"We did attempt to do further investigation of the (MMS) incident, due to the legal requirements, we cannot compel a child to speak with us," Cimino said. "If parents are not going to cooperate with us we cannot speak to that child and do an interview or an interrogation. so without getting ino much detail, we don't have a very clear picture of what things preceded the incident at Maplewood Middle School."

He said there is a little more information about the CHS incident.

"With respect to the Columbia High School incident, that was an airsoft weapon, it is not considered a firearm under the law," the chief explained. "But that youth was charged with the appropriate weapons offenses for having the knife that they were in possession of."

But Cimino stressed that even an imitation firearm or airsoft gun is improper to have in school.

"It is also grossly inappropriate for an imitation firearm, a toy gun, or in this case an air soft weapon to be taken to a school environment because of the types of things this causes," Cimino said. "People look at those weapons or those devices and believe them to be real so it is a very serious thing for a child even to bring that type of a device into a school setting or use out on the street where it can be misconstrued as a functioning firearm."

More details from the town hall meeting to come.