COLUMBUS, Ohio — Safety concerns are growing after police said an 11-year-old Columbus City Schools student was arrested for bringing a loaded magazine and a gun to a middle school on Monday.
“That breaks my heart. That is really concerning if we have 11-year-olds and younger even thinking about using weapons as a means of solving their conflicts,” said Regina Fuentes.
Fuentes has been a teacher at Columbus City Schools for more than two decades, and is the spokesperson for the Columbus Education Association.
“I don't even know if safe is the right word anymore. I feel like things are happening and safety is an issue,” Fuentes said.
Officers with the Columbus Division of Police were called to Champion Middle School Monday afternoon for reports of kids possibly having a gun and taking a loaded ammunition clip out of a student's school bag.
Police said a student told a teacher that the 11-year-old boy had the gun in his bag and was showing it to people. The teacher found the magazine in the bag, but not the gun. Officers later found the gun inside the ceiling tiles of a restroom.
Three of the boys told police the 11-year-old boy was showing them the gun. The boy later admitted to bringing the gun to school, according to police.
So far this year, 12 weapons have been found at CCS buildings.
Last month, the school district installed weapons detectors at all its high schools to prevent weapons from getting into the classroom.
10TV asked CCS for an interview, but the district referred us to a Board of Education meeting from two weeks ago.
“Our goal is to deter any student from wanting to bring dangerous weapons into schools. Today I can say I believe students are getting the message,” Chris Baker, Director of Safety and Security told the school board during the meeting.
Fuentes said her bigger concern is to help the students before they feel the need to bring a gun to school.
“If a student has gotten to the point where they are using a weapon to solve their problems, we have already gone too far. We have to get to the core of what is happening with our student,” Fuentes said.
CCS is creating a committee on security. They are working on forming that group now.