ALTERCATION INVOLVES NIS STUDENTS AGES 10-12
A complaint that a gun was held to the head of a student shortly after he was dropped-off by a Nottoway County school bus appears to be unfounded, according to Blackstone Chief of Police Sam Murphy.
Officers were dispatched at 4:22 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6th, to Nottoway Manor Apartments, where a caller reported that her grandson had gotten off the bus when someone “walked up on him” and held a gun to his head.
Chief Murphy said officers responded and immediately began conducting interviews. Murphy said an altercation had taken place earlier in the day at Nottoway Intermediate School (5th and 6th grades) and that tensions “spilled over into Blackstone after one of the juveniles got off the bus, and another juvenile was dropped-off at home by a School Resource Officer.”
Murphy said it’s likely the two students are assigned to the same bus and that school officials wanted them separated that afternoon.
Murphy said officers were able to observe several text messages, which indicated that several juveniles were planning to go to a residence and fight the juvenile who was dropped-off by the SRO.
Murphy told the Courier- Record, “Witnesses advised that multiple juveniles — including the victim (complainant) — approached the suspect’s residence, and the suspect ran out of the house and had his hands under his shirt as if he had a gun, which caused the other juveniles to run away. No firearm was seen, according to the juveniles involved, other than by the victim.”
Murphy said the suspect’s family was home at the time and observed the incident. “All advised that they had tried to keep the suspect in the residence after observing the group of juveniles walking towards their house. They advised that the suspect ran out of the back door since they wouldn’t let him out of the house, and that as soon as the suspect ran out of the house, the other juveniles ran away. They also advised that they do not have any firearms in the residence, other than the juvenile does has some nerf guns.”
Murphy said that there were about eight witnesses to the altercation “with only the victim (complainant) advising that he had seen a gun. Witnesses also disputed the allegation that a gun was put to anyone’s head.”
All juveniles interviewed by police are between ages 10 and 12, Murphy said.
Anyone with additional information, “We would be glad to hear from them,” Murphy told the Courier-Record, and we will continue to investigate any new information we receive.”
Loading Comments