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Student fires officer's gun in school
Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - 5:00 pm
By Patricia Newman, Eric Connor and Anna Simon
STAFF WRITERS
A student accidentally set off a resource officer's handgun at Lakeside Middle School. (TANYA ACKERMAN/Staff)
ANDERSON — A gunshot rang through the halls of Lakeside Middle School Wednesday morning when a student accidentally pulled the trigger of an Anderson County Sheriff's Deputy's gun, firing a bullet into the classroom floor.
Debris from the floor cut and scratched two students, but no one was seriously injured, Anderson County School District Five officials said. The student tried to grab the gun from its holster as the deputy, a school resource officer, talked with students about how difficult it is to commandeer an officer's gun, Anderson County Sheriff David Crenshaw said.
"The officer there today had a major lapse in judgment," Crenshaw said. "He was just trying to be nice to the kids and made a faulty decision. It was an accident. The good Lord blessed us that nobody got hurt."
Lakeside parents were livid after school dismissed Wednesday.
They questioned how someone toting a gun and responsible for keeping their children safe could put them in such danger and why the school didn't tell parents of the gunshot on a day when students were supposed to be focused on Palmetto Achievement standardized testing.
"We heard it on the news while we were eating dinner," said Angie Heaton, whose 12-year-old daughter, Kathryn, attends Lakeside but was not in the classroom. "When I went to school, there was no evidence of anything going on. Today was PACT testing. I don't see where there was time to be goofing off with kids."
The sheriff's office is conducting an internal — but not criminal — investigation while the officer is assigned to administrative leave, Crenshaw said. The sheriff declined to reveal the officer's identity, citing a "personnel matter," nor would he disclose whether the officer is being paid while on leave.
A small group of students were in a classroom with the deputy about 8:45 a.m. before PACT testing began when the girl reached for the .40 caliber Glock Model 22 and her finger slipped through the holster onto the trigger, Crenshaw said.
A "triple threat holster" — the type the officer was carrying the gun in — is designed to provide maximum protection from anyone who might try to grab an officer's gun.
"Her finger was apparently small enough to get inside the holster to the trigger," the sheriff said. "She was no more malicious than he was. We consider it a serious infraction of our policy. We will handle it appropriately."
The deputy acted outside of the normal protocol for school resource officers, district Five Superintendent Betty Bagley said. The district, she said, will "work with the Sheriff's Office to help ensure that this sort of breach doesn't happen again."
Jennifer Shifflet, whose son is a 2nd grader at New Prospect Elementary School and is zoned to attend Lakeside, said the officer should be fired.
"We're not moving, so this is where my son will go," Shifflet said. "It really bothers me that they let an irresponsible officer watch these kids. If he's that irresponsible with 11, 12 and 13 year olds, he needs to not deal with criminals."
Lucero Romero, a 7th grader at Lakeside, said the word around school didn't spread to her until late in the day, but once it did, the thought of a bullet hurtling from a gun inside a classroom made her fearful.
"It makes me feel awful because there's not supposed to be a gun in the school," Romero said. "I think that is a bad thing."
However, deputies that serve as school resource officers carry guns as "standard procedure," Crenshaw said.
School resource officers — who are trained and certified like any other deputy or policeman — play a duel role, Crenshaw said. They must try to build rapport with students while at the same time deter violence and, in rare cases, fend off mortal danger like the tragic murder spree six years ago at a Columbine, Colo., high school.
"They are police officers," Crenshaw said. "Had there been armed officers at Columbine, there would be a lot less dead people there. The most dangerous places in our country are where there are no guns."
William Cowart, however, wasn't encouraged. Cowart said he no longer feels confident in his 12-year-old son's safety at Lakeside.
"It could have been a classroom with my child in it, and he could have been shot as easy as the floor was shot," Cowart said. "They're supposed to be keeping all these kids from bringing weapons into the school, and the officer is letting the kid play with his gun. That doesn't make you feel very comforted."
Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - 5:00 pm
By Patricia Newman, Eric Connor and Anna Simon
STAFF WRITERS
A student accidentally set off a resource officer's handgun at Lakeside Middle School. (TANYA ACKERMAN/Staff)
ANDERSON — A gunshot rang through the halls of Lakeside Middle School Wednesday morning when a student accidentally pulled the trigger of an Anderson County Sheriff's Deputy's gun, firing a bullet into the classroom floor.
Debris from the floor cut and scratched two students, but no one was seriously injured, Anderson County School District Five officials said. The student tried to grab the gun from its holster as the deputy, a school resource officer, talked with students about how difficult it is to commandeer an officer's gun, Anderson County Sheriff David Crenshaw said.
"The officer there today had a major lapse in judgment," Crenshaw said. "He was just trying to be nice to the kids and made a faulty decision. It was an accident. The good Lord blessed us that nobody got hurt."
Lakeside parents were livid after school dismissed Wednesday.
They questioned how someone toting a gun and responsible for keeping their children safe could put them in such danger and why the school didn't tell parents of the gunshot on a day when students were supposed to be focused on Palmetto Achievement standardized testing.
"We heard it on the news while we were eating dinner," said Angie Heaton, whose 12-year-old daughter, Kathryn, attends Lakeside but was not in the classroom. "When I went to school, there was no evidence of anything going on. Today was PACT testing. I don't see where there was time to be goofing off with kids."
The sheriff's office is conducting an internal — but not criminal — investigation while the officer is assigned to administrative leave, Crenshaw said. The sheriff declined to reveal the officer's identity, citing a "personnel matter," nor would he disclose whether the officer is being paid while on leave.
A small group of students were in a classroom with the deputy about 8:45 a.m. before PACT testing began when the girl reached for the .40 caliber Glock Model 22 and her finger slipped through the holster onto the trigger, Crenshaw said.
A "triple threat holster" — the type the officer was carrying the gun in — is designed to provide maximum protection from anyone who might try to grab an officer's gun.
"Her finger was apparently small enough to get inside the holster to the trigger," the sheriff said. "She was no more malicious than he was. We consider it a serious infraction of our policy. We will handle it appropriately."
The deputy acted outside of the normal protocol for school resource officers, district Five Superintendent Betty Bagley said. The district, she said, will "work with the Sheriff's Office to help ensure that this sort of breach doesn't happen again."
Jennifer Shifflet, whose son is a 2nd grader at New Prospect Elementary School and is zoned to attend Lakeside, said the officer should be fired.
"We're not moving, so this is where my son will go," Shifflet said. "It really bothers me that they let an irresponsible officer watch these kids. If he's that irresponsible with 11, 12 and 13 year olds, he needs to not deal with criminals."
Lucero Romero, a 7th grader at Lakeside, said the word around school didn't spread to her until late in the day, but once it did, the thought of a bullet hurtling from a gun inside a classroom made her fearful.
"It makes me feel awful because there's not supposed to be a gun in the school," Romero said. "I think that is a bad thing."
However, deputies that serve as school resource officers carry guns as "standard procedure," Crenshaw said.
School resource officers — who are trained and certified like any other deputy or policeman — play a duel role, Crenshaw said. They must try to build rapport with students while at the same time deter violence and, in rare cases, fend off mortal danger like the tragic murder spree six years ago at a Columbine, Colo., high school.
"They are police officers," Crenshaw said. "Had there been armed officers at Columbine, there would be a lot less dead people there. The most dangerous places in our country are where there are no guns."
William Cowart, however, wasn't encouraged. Cowart said he no longer feels confident in his 12-year-old son's safety at Lakeside.
"It could have been a classroom with my child in it, and he could have been shot as easy as the floor was shot," Cowart said. "They're supposed to be keeping all these kids from bringing weapons into the school, and the officer is letting the kid play with his gun. That doesn't make you feel very comforted."
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