HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The Henrico County School Board called on state lawmakers to address safe storage of weapons and holding parents accountable in an effort to prevent guns from entering school buildings.
Over the past two academic years, a total of 18 guns have been found on Henrico Schools property, nine during the 2022-2023 school year and nine during the 2021-2022 school year.
No guns have been recovered from school property during the 2023-2024 school year thus far.
Maryam Ali, a Henrico County parent, said one of her children's schools was recently the target of a threat in which a student claimed to have a gun.
"Scary. It was a very scary situation," Ali recalled.
Though ultimately deemed not credible, Ali said the threat was a reminder of the reality that some children can easily access weapons at home.
“Parents are responsible for everything," Ali said. "Most kids don't know what guns might do."
She said she supported that her school board representatives, along with support from Superintendent Dr. Amy Cashwell, identified safe storage and parental accountability as part of their 2024 legislative priorities. Each year, the board develops a list of items that outlines the top issues they wish to advocate around in hopes of the General Assembly passing legislation.
Prior to the board's unanimous vote to approve the priorities during its October 26 meeting, Tuckahoe representative Marcie Shea drew attention to a public comment submitted by the family of Lucia Bremer.
"Please unanimously and robustly support enhancing safe storage of weapons & parental accountability," Bremer's parents wrote to the school board.
Bremer was a 13-year-old Henrico middle school student when she was shot and killed by another Henrico student behind Godwin High School in March 2021.
The investigation found that the 14-year-old shooter, who did not know Bremer, obtained the gun he used to kill her from a guardian he was living with at the time.
"In the days that followed, we learned that the murder weapon was a handgun that had been left accessible in the boy’s home. Our minds went immediately to the idea that the adults in this student’s life had made a serious miscalculation," Bremer's parents Jonathan and Meredith wrote in their letter to the school board.
Prosecutors argued the adult contributed to the delinquency of a minor by not locking up the firearm and allowing the teen to access it, but he was never convicted of a crime.
"We [are] often asked about what punishment the gun owner received in Lucia’s case. We share with them that the gun owner does not seem to have broken any laws, and then we watch their faces fall as they shake their heads in dismay. Virginia’s current Child Access Prevention law is inadequate and needs to be strengthened," Bremer's parents told the school board.
Under the current state law, it is illegal for a person to "recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen" and anyone found in violation can face a misdemeanor charge.
The law does not apply to children ages 14-17, and there are no laws that require unattended guns to be stored in a certain way.
Board member Shea, who represents the Bremers' district, told CBS 6, "Weapons do not belong in our schools. If students do not have access to weapons, they cannot bring them to school. We need the partnership of our families in ensuring young people do not have access to firearms when they are not being properly supervised by an adult."
Dr. Cashwell was unavailable for an interview on Monday.
While Ali said she agreed with stricter penalties for parents who leave guns unattended, she said it's only one part of addressing the gun violence crisis.
“More than that, I think addressing mental health problems is more than the gun itself. It's the most important thing," Ali said.
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