RICHMOND, Va. -- The metal detector did not go off when a 17-year-old student found with a loaded gun on them at George Wythe High School Thursday walked through it that morning, according to Richmond School Board member Stephanie Rizzi.
George Wythe is in Rizzi's district.
Rizzi said the acting principal at George Wythe told her the student signed in at the office a little after 10 a.m. on Thursday and walked through a metal detector. She said the detector did not go off.
RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras told board members in an email that staff checked the metal detector and it is working.
Richmond Police showed up around 11 a.m. and pulled the student out of class to arrest him in connection with a recent shooting of a 15-year-old. The 17-year-old has been charged with aggravated malicious wounding, the use of a firearm in a felony and the possession of a firearm by a minor in connection to the shooting.
During the arrest, officers discovered the loaded gun. Following this discovery, police further charged the student with carrying a concealed weapon, the possession of a firearm by a minor and the possession of a firearm by a minor.
Rizzi said the school system is investigating how and when the student got the gun into the school. One possible theory is that he used a side door, but there is no confirmation of that yet.
In the meantime, Rizzi said she hopes people will not use this incident to "criminalize" RPS students.
"I need for people to think about ways to address these problems we are having with our children right now," Rizzi said. "They are suffering from what is an adult issue and a systemic issue and it's killing our kids. A lot of our kids are simply unprotected by our systems. We have to realize all kids are important and all kids need nurturing and support."
She implored people to help.
"For families who can't do that, those of us who have the means need to look at supporting those who don't," Rizzi said.
Rizzi added that RPS kids are not inherently delinquent or violent and the community needs to get to the bottom of why they're turning to guns and how they're getting access to them.
