Police were called to Brownwood Intermediate School after a 12-year-old boy brandished a pellet pistol in the school’s cafeteria Friday morning.
According to Assistant Chief James Fuller, the boy brought the gun to school as a joke and showed it to two of his friends in the school cafeteria around 10:00am. According to Fuller, the boy stated a racial slur jokingly to his friends as he pulled the pellet pistol out of his backpack so they could see it, and then put it back into his backpack when he saw a teacher nearby.
Brownwood Intermediate School Principal Charles Chesser stated that the boy was sent home on an unrelated matter and had placed his backpack into a locker that was unassigned and unlocked. At the time he went home, school officials were not aware of the pellet pistol; however later in the day, another child told a teacher about the pellet pistol and the search began, Chesser said. School officials looked through lockers one by one, and the boy’s mother was contacted and confirmed that she had bought him a small pellet pistol at Goodwill which was broken and incapable of even firing a pellet because it was missing a piece, Chesser explained.
Chesser stated that the administration did not alert parents because there was no eminent threat present. The suspect was off of the campus and the pellet pistol was determined to be a nonfunctioning item. According to Chesser, the search went on until well after 3:00pm and students were already dismissed.
“It was an all day affair finding the pellet pistol. We had to look through over 200 lockers,” said Chesser. “Student safety is paramount. If we’d thought anyone was in danger, we would have locked this school down.”
Chesser stated that the Brownwood Police Department was contacted because at one time the pellet pistol was thought to be capable of shooting a projectile at someone.
“An officer went to the kid’s house and he said he never pulled it out,” said Fuller. “The kid wasn’t worried about the officer’s visit and stated he had brought it to school to play a joke on his friends.”
Being a parent himself of three small children, Chesser said he understands parental concerns. Chesser stated that he wants to keep all students safe and parents notified of any dangers. He also stated that he will always do what he feels is best for all students.
“I care about these kids, even the ones with problems. I want them to get help and the resources they need, even if it is through the justice system,” said Chesser.
Chesser stated that the boy will face school disciplinary measures; however he was not able to disclose the details of such. According to Assistant Chief Fuller, the case is being reviewed by a juvenile probation officer to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
