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Police: 9-year-old boy brings loaded handgun to Middletown school

Posted at 11:17 AM, Oct 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-19 15:49:02-04

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- A 9-year-old boy who said he was being picked on brought a loaded handgun to school, the Journal-News reported.

A teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary School on Monday morning noticed a bulge in the boy’s pants pocket. When she reached for it, the third-grader grabbed her arm, Middletown police Lt. David Birk said.

“The teacher confiscated the gun, gave it to the SRO (school resource officer) and the incident was reported to police,” Middletown City Schools spokeswoman Elizabeth Beadle said.

The incident happened at 10:40 a.m. inside a classroom at the school, 2210 Verity Parkway, Middletown.

The boy was taken to the Butler County Juvenile Justice Center, where he is being held on suspicion of felonious assault, conveyance of a weapon into the school and carrying a concealed weapon, Birk said.

Beadle would not provide information on what discipline the student could face, citing privacy laws.

The boyfriend of the boy's mother also was arrested on suspicion of child endangering, according to a Middletown police report. Jerron Dean, 29, had his arraignment continued to Nov. 1, according to online Middletown Municipal Court records.

Dean failed to properly secure the gun, giving the boy access to it, Middletown police Lt. Scott Reeve told the Journal-News.

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