A three hour lockdown of a charter school in Newark had police take a boy into custody this morning after they found a gun that belong to the boy.
Authorities said they arrested the 17-year-old male student at Paulo Freire Charter High School for weapons charges stemming from the recovery of a loaded handgun from the student’s locker today.
Police said at approximately 10 a.m., police officers were dispatched to the school, located at 28 Burnet Street, after school officials reported finding a .380 caliber pistol inside a student locker during a routine inspection.
After the locating the gun, the locker’s owner was removed from a classroom by school officials and security and transported to a secure location until police arrived shortly thereafter.
The officers took possession of the gun and charged the student, a Newark resident, with possession of a weapon and possession of the handgun on school property.
About a half dozen parents nervously waited outside, for hours, in the cold in an attempt to gain any information regarding what was happening in the building but was later spoken to by a school administrator and security officer who told them that the children were ok and in a "Cold Yellow" lockdown status.
The administrator would not say exactly what the status meant.
Students were released to parents at 12:30 p.m.
These charges are merely accusations.
The suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The youth was remanded to the Essex County Juvenile Detention facility.