SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. -- A 15-year-old was taken into custody Tuesday for bringing a gun to White Station High School.
Authorities received an anonymous tip at about 9 a.m., and found both the student and the weapon, a loaded .32-caliber Colt revolver, in class.
When the Spatts picked up their two boys from school, they saw a letter from the principal saying "a classmate was in possession of a firearm."
"That's difficult to believe a child was walking around with six live rounds," said Kathy Spatt.
"I was concerned, very concerned, because it's dangerous to have a loaded weapon in school," said Roger Spatt.
"Thank God, no one was vengeful enough to start using it. I think the school took the right action and handled it really professionally," he added.
The principal said a student told his teacher his classmate had a gun, and the school immediately called deputies.
The student told detectives he brought the gun for protection. Several parents told WREG it was over a pair of tennis shoes.
"When I was a kid, we duked it out! Now kids just shoot each other," said Ferrell Thomas.
Thomas lives across from the school and never heard of any bad behavior before.
"Not in the least. Everybody that I've seen here has been well behaved and quiet for school kids," said Thomas.
As for the Spatts, they're not worried for their kids' safety, convinced this is an isolated incident. They say their biggest concern is where the student got the gun.
"It is not the schools fault. It is the parent's fault for letting their kids have access to something like that," said Roger.
Deputies are working to find that out.
WREG is told there are metal detectors at the school. No word if they were turned on Tuesday morning.
The following letter was sent home to parents:
Dear Parent or Guardian,
I am writing to inform you of a situation that occurred at our school today.
This morning, a faculty member received a tip from a student that a classmate was in possession of a firearm. The school’s Shelby County Deputies and Memphis Police Officer responded and investigated. They immediately took possession of the weapon. As a result of the staff and officers’ immediate action, no students or staff were injured.
While there was no incident involving the firearm, I want to be very clear that weapons of any kind are prohibited on campus. In addition to being arrested, the student will be disciplined in accordance with the District’s policy.
We want to commend the student who came forward with information about a weapon on campus. Parents, please be assured that we take all incidents involving the safety of our students and staff seriously, and students are always encouraged to report safety concerns to our staff.
We appreciate you working with us to ensure White Station High School remains a safe learning environment. Should you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact the school.
Thank you for your continued support of White Station High.
Sincerely,
David Mansfield
Principal
impulse item
protection from what? His parents maybe.
Pam
Protection from Thugg Lyfe traditional students
Mike
Funny how this is being swept under the rug. What part of White Stations’ district is so bad to bring in the thugs?
Amber
As a recently graduated student with a family member still there, nothing.
Mike
So this kid just showed up with a gun and lives a couple of blocks from school?
Nah, I’ve heard stories for a few years that there is a bad area of Memphis that is somehow zoned for WSHS. Where is it?
bambam84
Isolated incident? If I remember correctly, didn’t White Station have at least one gun related incident last year? Along with about half of the other schools in this city?
Carl
Why do the suburbs want their own school system?
Redblur63
The fault for this kind of incident does not lie with the school system. It lies with parents who do not raise their children with discipline (not abuse) and respect. My student went to WSHS and interacted daily with kids in both the optional and traditional (non-college prep) programs. She had friends in both segments of the student population. Kids who don’t have a hands-on parent are more likely to make rash decisions. Props to the staff, faculty, and security personnel of WSHS for handling the matter quickly and decisively.
Lady D
Those metal detectors worked so well..
wow
there were no metal detectors that day, they barely use them.
Frank
“As a result of the staff and officers’ immediate action, no students or staff were injured.”
No mention of the firearm being waved about or actually endangering anyone while in the student’s possession and at the tim eof confiscation. Does Mr. Mansfield mean to say that the gun was about to fire all on its own? Correlation does not imply causation.