NYC revamps school security alerts amid gun incidents at 2 schools
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Two students are facing weapons charges after loaded guns were discovered at New York City schools just days into the new school year, incidents that come as the city works to strengthen emergency communications during school lockdowns.
At the Queens School for Career Development, a loaded gun was found Monday afternoon in a 17-year-old student's bag while he was being screened before entering the school building. Authorities said the teen was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and is being prosecuted as a juvenile.
On Staten Island, 18-year-old Samuel Owusu was arrested at Curtis High School after a fight inside the school. School safety agents recovered a gun from his backpack with bullets in the cartridge, according to authorities. Owusu was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of cannabis.
Students at Curtis High School said they were shaken by the incident.
"They got into an altercation. They were slamming each other into the walls and the kid who got detained said, 'I'm gonna shoot you.' And that's when they had taken the bag," one student said.
The same student expressed frustration about how the incident was communicated to students.
"The school doesn't tell us or announce these things. We want to, you know, maybe contact our parents... but they don't tell us this."
The incidents were among several violent episodes reported at city schools Monday. In the Bronx, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the buttocks while his mother was registering him for classes. He was taken to Harlem Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
City officials are also revamping an emergency notification system designed to alert nearby private schools when a school is placed on lockdown. The city says the updated tool is intended to provide more targeted alerts during emergencies. About 1,600 public schools are protected by the NYPD's School Safety Division.
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