Tuesday prosecutors filed charges in La Crosse County Circuit Court againsty a 15 year old Onalaska High School freshman accused of bringing a handgun and ammunition into the building on Friday. He is charged with felony possession of a firearm in a school zone and misdemanor possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. The petition filed is not public record because the teen hasn't been adjudicated previously and is not charged with a class B felony.
The student was suspended when school officials were alerted by another classmate that he'd seen the ammunition and after searching the syudent's backpack they discovered the ammunition and a 9mm handgun Friday morning. The incident led to a 90 minute lockdown while police searched through all the lockers and backpacks at the school. Onalaska Superintedant John Burnett stated Tuesday, "that even though the student made a very, very poor decision, we have no indication that he intended to do any harm to anyone." He went on to say, "his intent was to show off what he had in his possession."
Wisconsin State law requires that the district have an expultion hearing when a firearm is brought to school within 15 days of the incident. No date has yet been set while the administration is still deciding what penalties the student should face. An expultion could range from several days or until the student is 21, Burnett said. The board could also recommend that the student be enrolled in an alternative education program.
Lately we have been hearing an awful lot in the last few years about students bringing firearms into classrooms in this state, often times the situation has ended with dire consequences for both the student and their classmates and teachers. I guess my question is a two fold question, should Wisconsin's gun get tougher than they already are? and could this senseless incident have been prevented by the student's parents with more supervision of the child?
Jungen, Anne La Crosse Tribune 8 Dec., 2010 ajungen@lacrossetribune.com pgs. A1, A7
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