Police believe a 14-year-old Clarkston High School student simply showed bad judgment in bringing a firearm to school Monday.
The law and school policies are clear, however, and the boy faces possible expulsion from school and criminal charges of carrying a concealed weapon.
According to Lt. Dale LaBair of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Independence Township substation, the student displayed an unloaded .38 caliber revolver to students around 2:30 p.m. Monday. A fellow student told school officials, who detained the boy and found the weapon in his backpack.
“There was no malice or threat,” LaBair said, and the student showed no indication of emotional problems that would lead to using a firearm. “He’s just your average student.”
Deputy Darren Ofiara, the high school liaison officer, was attempting to file the charges on Tuesday. The actual charges will come from the county prosecutor’s office, and Ofiara said he has recommended only a charge of carrying a weapon on school property, which is designated as a “weapon-free zone.”
The student’s parents are divorced, LaBair said, and this past weekend the boy was visiting his father in Auburn Hills, where he found the pistol in a box under a bed. Apparently merely curious, he brought the weapon back to his Independence Township residence, then took it to school Monday.
Sheriff’s investigation showed the father had no ammunition at his home, and the mother said there are no firearms in her home, LaBair said.
Anita Banach, director of marketing and communications for Clarkston Community Schools, said Tuesday the student had been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.
“The student gets due process,” Banach said. Expulsion requires a vote of the board of education, but Banach said there is a well-established “zero tolerance” policy.
If the student is tried as an adult, the potential felony penalty for a CCW charge is a maximum of five years imprisonment and $2,500 fine. LaBair said the weapon-free zone violation is a misdemeanor that could lead to 93 days in jail, 150 days of community service, and/or an additional $7,500 fine.