THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270393
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
All spectators entering Todd Stadium for high shool football games will be searched with metal detectors because two students were caught at a game with a loaded pistol, city school officials say.
The school system will hire more police officers to patrol during games, schools spokeswoman Rosalynne Whitaker-Heck said Monday.
At a Saturday game, a Ferguson High School student dropped a loaded 9 mm Glock pistol during a fight behind the stands. Police officers breaking up the fight saw the gun drop and arrested the 16-year-old boy and his 16-year-old companion, also a Ferguson student. No one was injured. The gun was fully loaded with a clip containing 15 rounds, police said.
Both boys were charged with possession of a gun on school property, a felony, and both face expulsion from school. The incident was the first this school year involving a gun on school property, Whitaker-Heck said. Last year, no guns were found in school buildings, but one student was caught with an unloaded gun at the stadium.
Saturday's incident took place during the Ferguson-Tabb High School game.
The metal-detector searches will start this weekend. Previously, the hand-held metal detectors were used for random searches, Whitaker-Heck said. by CNB