Gun at Middle School
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Authorities say a 13-year-old boy brought an unloaded gun to his Wilmington middle school in his backpack.
Wilmington police say students alerted teachers at P.S. duPont Middle School on Thursday morning that the teen showed schoolmates the gun as they walked to school. When staff searched the teen's backpack, police say they found the gun inside.
Police say the student didn't make any threats and he wanted to show off the gun he believed to be a BB gun.
The teen is charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and possession of a firearm in a safe school zone. He is being held on $39,000 secured bail.
The city's firearms squad is investigating how the boy obtained the gun.
Lost Gun Bill
DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware state Senate has narrowly approved a bill requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
The watered-down version of bill passed on an 11-to-10 vote Thursday.
The original bill gave gun owners 48 hours to report after discovering that a firearm is lost or stolen. A first offense would have been a misdemeanor.
The revised bill gives gun owners seven days to report and replaces the first-offense misdemeanor with civil penalties for the first two offenses.
Supporters say the bill, which now goes to the House, can help authorities crack down on straw purchases, in which people buy guns for others who aren't supposed to have them.
Authorities say people who make straw purchases often escape prosecution by telling investigators that a gun was lost or stolen.
