Boy Who Took Loaded Gun to School Held in Juvenile Hall

A 9-year-old boy who threatened teachers and classmates with a loaded pistol he had brought to Lampton Elementary School in Norwalk was in custody Friday at juvenile hall, officials said.

The fourth-grader was turned over to sheriff’s deputies about 2:30 p.m. Thursday after a school custodian took the .45-caliber handgun from a 7-year-old who was being forced to hide the weapon, said Sgt. Marty Boothroyd of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A teacher’s aide saw that the 9-year-old had something in his waistband, Boothroyd said. When confronted, the boy left the campus with two classmates, the officer said.

The school custodian followed the boys and saw the gun, which was partially concealed by the seated, 7-year-old brother of one of the older boys, Boothroyd said.

A magazine with eight rounds was in the gun, but there was no bullet in the chamber, Boothroyd said.

The 9-year-old didn’t give a reason for taking the gun to school, Boothroyd said. “When he was at school, he told two kids that if they told, he would kill them and kill any teachers who got involved,” Boothroyd said.

The 9-year-old told investigators that he had found the gun under his mother’s bed, Boothroyd said. The gun belongs to the mother’s boyfriend, the officer said.

Ginger Shattuck, superintendent of the Norwalk-La Mirada School District, said extra security guards were posted at the school on Friday.

“The principal met with the staff and encouraged them to meet with their students and urge them to report any weapon on campus,” Shattuck said.

The 9-year-old will remain in custody until the investigation is over, officials said. Charges could be filed against the boy, his mother or his mother’s boyfriend, Boothroyd said.

The boy’s two classmates were questioned before being released to their parents, Boothroyd said. The 7-year-old was not taken into custody.

“He was an innocent bystander,” Boothroyd said.

In the wake of the deadly shootings Monday at Santana High School in Santee, at least 11 California students have been arrested and several more suspended for reportedly making threats against classmates or taking real or fake weapons to schools.

The arrests were made as teachers, students, parents and authorities sought to head off copycat violence after the Santee shooting in which a 15-year-old freshman was charged with killing two and wounding 13.