News / The Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com
Police: Student had gun at school
By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com
FRONT ROYAL -- Warren County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy Thursday morning after finding him with a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun on school property.
The youth was arrested around 8 a.m. at the Diversified Minds Alternative Education Program at 320 Criser Road, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
The boy, who is not being identified because of his age, was taken to the Sheriff's Office and charged with possession of a firearm on school property, a class 6 felony, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Authorities said the boy was taken to the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center after a detention hearing in Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. He will remain there until trial, they said.
Sheriff Daniel T. McEathron said Thursday's arrest came as a follow-up to an investigation that began on Wednesday around 3 p.m. when his office took a report about a student suspected of bringing a handgun to the Diversified Minds building.
Deputies searched the building with a dog provided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but found no firearms. No students were in the building because there had been an early release at 1 p.m. due to bad weather.
Authorities reported going to the school for a second time at 7:50 a.m. Thursday to stand by while school officials searched about nine students enrolled in the Diversified Minds program. They said one of the students refused to cooperate in the search and deputies, responding to a request from school officials, removed him from the school and called his parents.
At that point, the deputies patted down the student and found the handgun on him, department officials said.
Investigators said Thursday afternoon they have no evidence so far that the boy intended to use the firearm, but the case remains under investigation.
Anyone with additional information about the incident may call Investigator Dan Simmons at the Sheriff's Office at 635-7100 or visit the agency's website at www.warrencountysheriff.org.
Warren County Schools Superintendent Pamela M. McInnis briefed the School Board on the incident at a regular Thursday night meeting.
Board member Joanne Cherefko said she had fielded one telephone call from a parent concerned about the Diversified Minds program location adjacent to Ressie Jeffries Elementary School. Cherefko said the parent wanted to see the program moved away from the school.
"I'm sure I'll be getting more calls to that effect tomorrow," Cherefko said.
In an interview after the meeting, Greg Drescher, assistant superintendent for instruction, said the Diversified Minds programs enrolls about 30 high school age students, not all of whom are considered disciplinary problems.
Some are in the program because of what Drescher called "life circumstances" such as pregnancy. Others are in the program because of attendance problems or other issues unrelated to classroom behavior, Drescher said.
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Diversified Minds Alternative Education Program - That says it all.