PEORIA, AZ — "I'm a parent that has a child that made a horrible mistake,” said Starsha West.
Tuesday morning, West got a call from her 10-year-old son's principal at Alta Loma Elementary School in Peoria.
"My son had showed some of his friends that he had a handgun,” West explained. “The principal pulled him to the side, checked his book bag and it was a handgun in there.”
The Valley mom knew immediately where the gun came from.
"I ended up leaving my unloaded gun in my glove compartment in my car,” West said. “I thought that it was locked, and it wasn't locked."
But West didn't understand why her son would take her weapon.
"I was blinded by the signs and it's like, as a mother,” West wept. “Where did I go wrong to make my child feel like that? He couldn't come to me and say, ‘Hey, Mom, I'm being bullied.'"
It was after the incident; West says she learned from parents of two instances where her son was physically bullied.
"It had continued,” West said. “This past Monday my son was actually choked again. And I was not aware."
The alleged incidents were never reported to school officials. But her son complained of a headache and didn't want to go to school Tuesday.
Dr. Emily Bashah, a Valley psychologist, commends West for speaking out about the incident.
She offered advice to parents, "There's so many things that you want for your child and it's hard when you see them hurting and feel like you can't help but the biggest thing you can do is really listen to them and get close to them really understand,” Dr. Bashah said. “What are they suffering from? What are their concerns? What are their stressors throughout the day?”
West broke down with emotion and said, “I feel like it could have been stopped at the beginning. Before my son had his breaking point."
West hopes the district considers a stronger law enforcement presence where children are encouraged to speak up to adults.
Peoria Unified School District says they can't comment on specific criminal cases but tell ABC15 they're looking to add four school resource officers to some of their elementary schools.
According to the district's website, if parents suspect bullying, they can complete an incident form.
The Peoria Police Department submitted charges on West's son to juvenile court. But it's unclear where it goes from there.
Police say this is the 10-year-old's first offense and they don't believe he was going to cause harm. They say his friends did the right thing by telling a teacher. If you see something, say something.
According to police, West will not be charged. They say her weapon was stowed, she was upfront and honest.
"On my end, parents mess up. I messed up and I take accountability of that,” West said.
However, West has already been met by the Arizona Department of Child Safety and will meet with the school board next week.
“I'm just trying so hard. And it's going to be even harder because I have a black son so they're going to be looking at it more differently,” West wept.
Police encourage everyone to keep firearms locked and out of reach of children.
