Laredo Middle School Students Face Expulsion After Air Gun Incident
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - Four middle school students have been suspended after an incident with an air gun on a school bus that injured three students.
The incident happened on a school bus last week as students from Laredo Middle School in Englewood were being driven home and a fellow student shot an airsoft gun inside the bus.
The principal of the school sent home a letter to all families. It said airsoft guns and BB guns are not allowed in school or in district vehicles. He also said the incident can now serve as a teachable moment for all parents and students.
The district has surveillance video, but is not releasing it.
"It shows that a student is holding something below seat-level, can't be seen by the driver, and then we hear a student later in the video say 'ow,' " Tustin Amole with the Cherry Creek School District said.
Three students were hurt and four students are now suspended, facing possible expulsion.
"The four students who are facing expulsion knew of the gun. They may have handled it, that's part of the investigation," Amole said. "But they did not report it, so they are as culpable as the student who did the shooting."
The district said the bus driver's actions are also now being investigated because he did not react the way policy says he should have.
"The driver did file a report but we did not become aware of that information until the following day," Amole said. "Policy and procedure would dictate that the driver would call a supervisor immediately. That did not happen."
Aurora police are now involved to determine if any criminal charges or citations may be filed.
The injured students only sustained minor wounds.
The suspended students will now have a hearing. An outside company does a review and makes a recommendation to the superintendent who will then decide if and how long the students could be expelled -- anywhere from one to 100 days.
