Boy, 9, Denies Carrying Loaded Gun to School

At his Juvenile Court arraignment Tuesday, a 9-year-old boy denied a felony charge of possessing a loaded semiautomatic handgun at his Norwalk school.

The boy, a fourth-grader at Lampton Elementary School, also pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of possessing ammunition. The arraignment was held behind closed doors at Los Padrinos Juvenile Court in Downey. Only family members and attorneys were allowed to attend.

As the charges were being read, the boy “looked like he was scared,” Deputy Dist. Atty Nicholas Rini said.

The boy has been in juvenile hall since he was taken into custody March 8, three days after a deadly campus shooting at Santana High School in San Diego County. A 15-year-old Santana High freshman has been charged with killing two classmates and wounding 13 other people.

Since then, at least 11 California students have been arrested and several others suspended for allegedly making threats against students or taking real or fake weapons to schools.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved mandatory tours of coroner’s facilities for students caught making threats or bringing guns on campus. The board’s action expands a program involving the Juvenile Court that applies to minors convicted of drunk driving.

In the Norwalk case, a teacher’s aide saw something in the boy’s waistband. When confronted, he left campus and allegedly passed the .45-caliber handgun to a 7-year-old classmate. The pistol was taken away by a school custodian. It was loaded with eight rounds.

Although the boy did not provide a reason for taking the gun to school, he allegedly told other students “that if they told, he would kill them and kill any teachers who got involved,” according to a Sheriff’s Department official.

Those allegations are still being investigated, Rini said.

The boy told investigators that he found the gun under his mother’s bed. The weapon belonged to the woman’s boyfriend.

The Sheriff’s Department said at the time that the mother and her boyfriend could be prosecuted. No charges have been filed by the district attorney’s office.

After the hearing Tuesday, the boy’s attorney portrayed his client as a victim of the gun lobby, which he says has pushed for the proliferation of firearms.

“This kid is a victim of the system,” said Charles E. Frisco.

He said the boy should be released to his mother and counseled, rather than charged with a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in the California Youth Authority or county camp. “Prosecuting a 9-year-old is not the way to handle this,” Frisco said.

Rini disagreed, contending that the charge fits the crime.