Two teens charged with bringing loaded guns to Long Island high schools
A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old faced court proceedings Tuesday after authorities discovered firearms in their school lockers and bags.
By Elena Perry ·
Two Long Island teenagers stood before judges on Tuesday, each charged with bringing a loaded firearm to their respective high schools.
In Nassau County, police arrested a 15-year-old West Hempstead High School student on Monday. He faced a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. Security staff located a loaded gun inside his bookbag, which was stored in his locker. Officials acted on a tip regarding a fight the teen had with a student from Hempstead High School the previous week. The boy was held by security until police arrived. He pleaded not guilty in First District Court before 2 p.m. Tuesday. His case did not appear on the public calendar, and no attorney information was immediately available.
In Suffolk County, the District Attorney’s office indicted a 16-year-old from Nesconset for bringing a stolen, loaded handgun to Smithtown High School West on Oct. 26. Students reported a social media post to administrators. The student had been in a dispute with a peer one week prior. The principal searched the student’s bookbag and found a small kitchen knife, a Kahr P380 handgun, and a loaded magazine containing five rounds. District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement that the students who reported the post enabled officials to recover the weapon quickly.
George Terezakis, the attorney for the Nesconset teen, stated that no one has alleged his client threatened or used the weapon against anyone. He noted the teen has no prior arrest record and works 20 to 30 hours a week at a restaurant. Superintendent Daniel Rehman of West Hempstead said in a letter that administrators treat the incident with the utmost seriousness. He added that student and staff safety remains the district’s highest priority.
These cases follow a stabbing last week outside a Suffolk County school. A 15-year-old Sachem High School student stabbed a classmate in the upper chest with a four-inch kitchen knife in the parking lot. The 16-year-old victim underwent emergency surgery at Stony Brook Hospital. The suspect pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and fourth-degree weapons possession. His mother told Newsday after the arraignment that her son was protecting himself from a bully.
