QUEEN CREEK, AZ — The principal at Legacy Traditional School's Queen Creek campus has been placed on leave after a 4th grader brought a gun to the school Thursday.
Legacy school officials released the following statement regarding the principal's status Saturday:
“The wellbeing of Legacy students, teachers and staff members is our highest priority, and that includes supporting a safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environment. We are investigating the circumstances around Thursday’s discovery of an armed student on campus, and this inquiry includes making certain the administration at all times followed Legacy security protocols. Principal Alvarado has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of this review. We look forward to continued conversations with our students, parents, teachers and staff members to ensure our school lives up to Legacy’s high standards.”
Just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday, staff at the school notified Queen Creek Police Department about a student who brought a firearm to the campus.
When officers arrived, school staff had already removed the child from other students, to secure the area.
Officers located the weapon and confiscated it, according to Queen Creek PD.
Police say another student at the school noticed something suspicious Wednesday and alerted their parents. The parents then contacted the school and the student was confronted Thursday.
Additional officers were called to the school as an investigation took place.
Police say the gun is believed to belong to a family member of the child.
The Queen Creek Police Department says the gun was technically loaded because it had a magazine in it with bullets. But no bullets were actually loaded into the chamber when it was located.
No further details about the student have been released.
The case will be submitted to the County Attorney for charging considerations.
Queen Creek police say potential charges could include multiple weapons violations, but no decisions have been made yet as the situation continues to be under investigation.
Andrew Pacheco, a former deputy Maricopa County attorney and a former chief of the criminal division of Arizona Attorney General's Office, said there are multiple factors that go into charging parents and students.
He says it depends on what the child's intent was, if there is a history of violence or threats that have been made verbally or on the internet, and much more.
Although Pacheco says it's rare for a parent to be charged just because a child had a weapon, Stan Kephart says that parents can be held civilly liable too.
Kephart has nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience and does safety and security consultancy.
"You, as a parent, a grandparent and anybody that has the child under their roof so to speak, has a responsibility to ensure that that child goes to school and is not carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon, doesn't have to be a firearm, it could be other dangerous weapons," Kephart said.
Queen Creek police tell ABC15 it is still investigating and there could be charges filed as early as next week.
School officials released the following statement regarding the incident Thursday:
This morning, at Legacy Traditional School - Queen Creek, school officials responded to a 4th-grade student who was believed to possibly be in possession of a firearm on campus. The weapon, which was never brandished, was located and police were dispatched. School officials are fully cooperating with police, who continue their investigation. In the meantime, the student is prohibited from entering campus.
This is a deeply concerning situation to all of us. We will provide additional information as soon as possible.
ABC15 also received the letter Superintendent Michael Troop sent to parents during the incident:
Legacy - Queen Creek families,
School administration were alerted to the possibility that a fourth grade student may have brought a firearm to school. Administration worked swiftly to remove the student from others and the student was detained by police authorities after a firearm was found in their backpack while on school grounds.
Out of an abundance of caution, the campus immediately went into a hard lockdown and contacted the local police who, upon arrival, advised the campus they could safely move to a soft lockdown. The campus currently remains in soft lockdown, during which time students and staff are continuing classroom instruction, but may not leave campus or be released to parents and/or guardians.
Local police are on standby and the campus will remain in soft lockdown until notified by officers that the campus is clear to resume normal school operations.
Legacy officials and local authorities are handling the situation in accordance with the strict measures we have in place to safeguard our students and staff. This is a significant violation of state and federal law, one which continues to be investigated by school officials as well as our local police department.
Please know we are taking this situation extremely seriously, as the safety of our students and staff members is our highest priority. Any student found to have a weapon or weapon-related item of any kind faces severe consequences, suspension or expulsion per the school’s disciplinary procedures.
We thank those involved for their prompt action in this matter and ask that parents remind children about the importance of reporting any suspicious activity to a teacher or administrator immediately.
If you have any questions, please contact me at michael.troop@legacytraditional.org.
