Officials: Two Elementary Students Detained for Having Weapon

NACOGDOCHES — Nacogdoches ISD police detained two Thomas J. Rusk Academy of Fine Arts elementary students for possession of an unloaded firearm, according to officials. NISD Police Chief Doug Ploch said there was no indication either child planned to use the weapon. According to KETK, he said the students viewed having the pistol as “like more of a show and tell.” Ploch said his department believes an 11-year-old boy first brought the .22 semi-automatic pistol to school on Monday and gave it to a 12-year-old boy. The 12-year-old took the gun home and planned to return to school with it on Tuesday, according to school authorities.

Superintendent Dr. Fred Hayes commended NISD staff for its quick response to a parent’s tip. “Our staff followed the lead and made sure the weapon did not come back to campus,” Hayes said. Ploch said that a parent alerted the transportation department of the situation and that the gun was recovered from the 12-year-old on an NISD bus Tuesday morning. Both the 11- and 12-year-old have been detained, each being charged with possession of the weapon. The youth are in custody of the juvenile probation department and most likely will be taken to the Longview detention facility. Investigation into the incident continues.

Instances of weapon possession on NISD campuses are not common, the chief said. “We have seen more incidents involving toy guns,” Ploch said. “As for real firearms, we’ve only had 6 or 7 instances in the past 20 years.” He added, “This is not common, but we do take it seriously. The moment we heard about the possible existence of a firearm, we action and were able to recover it and detain those students we believe are connected to it.”