Amid the rise in cases of gun violence in the U.S., the police in Missouri are investigating a second-grader who was able to bring a loaded gun to school to show off to friends. At the same time, authorities in South Carolina arrested a teenager who made threats to shoot his classmates.
School officials across the U.S. have been on high alert following the most recent deadly school shooting in Michigan that has claimed four young lives.
In St. Louis, second-grader Kylie Vardiman from Pamoja Preparatory Academy said she was playing with her classmates during recess when one of the kids took out a loaded handgun. Vardiman told Fox News that the kids started yelling for someone to call the teacher, who was able to grab hold of the gun before anything else happened. The teacher also called the local police department.
Ongoing Investigations of School Threats
According to reports, St. Louis Public Schools officials are still investigating the matter. What they know so far is that the second-grader, who has remained unnamed, was able to take out the parents' firearms from the lockbox inside a safe at their house.
While no one was hurt, parents were briefed about the incident in an email to the school community. One mom said that it's scary to think about what "could have gone down" at her children's school with the number of gun violence and school shootings happening across the country.
Also under investigation for gun violence is a 14-year-old teenager from Lexington County, South Carolina, who made actual threats that he was going to shoot his classmates. Charges were filed against the student, whose identity was not released after his classmates reported that he was making specific threats.
The 14-year-old was immediately detained, but he was released to the care of his parents a few hours later. According to officials, he will have a court appearance at the Lexington County Family Court at a later date.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said that the teenager was not yet a danger to his classmates or teachers, but everyone in the school community had to protect each other. The sheriff commended the students who came forward to tell those in authority about the threats.
Manhunt for Parents of School Shooter in Michigan
Meanwhile, the police have questioned a friend of Ethan Crumbley's parents, the kid who open-fired at his classmates in Michigan. As Crumbley has been in custody and will be tried for charges of terrorism and murder, his parents are still in hiding as they were also charged with involuntary manslaughter for gifting their 15-year-old son a gun for Christmas.
According to reports, the cops believe that Andrzej Sikora, 65, helped James and Jennifer Crumbley evade the authorities. Sikora was interviewed for two hours in his home while his digital devices were taken as evidence. However, he insisted that he did not know the Crumbleys' whereabouts. An attorney for the couple, on the other hand, said that they would turn themselves in.
