Student arrested, charged after found with gun at Richmond middle school

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The Richmond Police Department said a student at Boushall Middle School was found with a weapon at school Monday afternoon.

The department said at 12:13 p.m., officers were called to Boushall Middle School for the report of a firearm on school grounds. When officers got to the scene, they said RPS security reported they found an unloaded firearm in the possession of a juvenile male student.

Richmond Police recovered the firearm, arrested the student and charged him with juvenile in possession of a firearm and firearm on school property.

Boushall Middle School Principal LaTonya Waller sent the following message to families after Monday’s incident:

“Dear Boushall Middle School Family & Communities,

I’m writing to make you aware of an occurrence at the campus this afternoon. Today, a scholar was found to be in possession of an unloaded weapon on campus. All scholars and staff are safe. At no time was it displayed in a threatening manner. Our Administrative team, Safety and Security Team, as well as law enforcement, took immediate action and promptly confiscated the inappropriate item. Please be assured the safety of our students and staff is always my top priority. Please know we take these matters very seriously and disciplinary action will be handed out in accordance with the Student Code of Responsible Ethics (www.rvaschools.net/score).

At Boushall, we consider scholar safety as our primary focus for all of our scholars and staff. Parent, please be sure to check your child’s bags and other belongings prior to them leaving for school to avoid them potentially bringing anything to school that should not be on campus. This will be a tremendous support to our school community and helps our school maintain the highest level of safety.

Thank you for your continued support. As always, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Principal Waller”

No other details about the disciplinary action the student would face were released.

The incident comes days after four Richmond Public Schools students were shot. One teen, Marquan Mitchell-Nash, was accidentally shot on Stockton Street just before 10 p.m. on March 10.

Shaila Wright, a mother of a student who goes to Boushall Middle School, was concerned to hear about Monday’s incident and is asking the community to step up and keep a closer eye on their children.

“If you do got firearms, just put your firearms up. Keep them locked,” she said. “We just got to do better as a community.”

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