Charlestown

17-Year-Old Accused of Bringing Gun to Charlestown School Held Without Bail

The student is one of two arrested after two guns were recovered at the school, resulting in an hourslong investigation that sent the rest of the students home early

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A 17-year-old student accused of bringing a gun to Boston's Charlestown High School Thursday was held without bail Friday pending a dangerousness hearing.

The student is one of two arrested after two guns were recovered at the school, resulting in an hourslong investigation that sent the rest of the students home early.

Metal detectors, which had been taken out during the COVID-19 pandemic, were reinstalled Friday.

The 17-year-old, who is from the Mission Hill neighborhood, was ordered held without bail in Boston Juvenile Court at an arraignment on Friday, with the dangerousness hearing is scheduled for June 1. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said the hearing was requested based on another open gun case involving that suspect.

A 13-year-old student from Hyde Park was also arrested in Thursday's incident.

Two high school students in Boston are facing charges after allegedly bringing guns to school.

What we know about the investigation

Boston Police said Thursday afternoon that officers first responded to the school around 10:10 a.m. after staff found a loaded 9mm handgun in the backpack of a 13-year-old student from Hyde Park. Staff initially searched the backpack for a separate issue — police said the student was reportedly loitering in a bathroom and staff spotted vaping materials in the trash. When the gun was found, the school was placed on lockdown.

The second weapon was found around 12:30 p.m. in an unattended backpack later determined to belong to a 17-year-old from Mission Hill. Investigators said that the 17-year-old student was seen entering the same bathroom where the 13-year-old student was found earlier in the day.

Both suspects are facing charges of delinquent to wit: unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm. Neither was identified due to their ages.

A K-9 unit did a full sweep of the building after the guns were found and all other students were sent home early.

A 13-year-old student and a 17-year-old student both face charges after the two weapons were found. No one was hurt, but students were dismissed early.

"The guns seized today in Charlestown High School present yet another reminder that this is not just a problem for police or for prosecutors or for school staff. It’s a problem for all of society, a problem that demands discussion in boardrooms and backyards and everywhere in between," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she was briefed on the situation Thursday afternoon and that there was a "rapid and thorough response" from school staff and police.

"As a mom, I am heartbroken that any of our young people would make the dangerous decision to carry a weapon, and am determined that each of our children will be and feel safe in our schools, on their commutes to school, and throughout our neighborhoods," she said.

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