Teens caught with same guns used in highprofile shootings
TRENTON » Three city teens were arrested for weapons possession Wednesday in two separate investigations by the city’s Street Crimes Unit.
The teens, though, have been released back to their parents, with two of the juveniles ordered to wear ankle bracelets after they were caught in possession of a TEC-9 assault weapon.
The first investigation happened around 5:15 p.m. in the 800 block of Walnut Avenue after Detectives Crystal Everett and Erik Mancheno passed a Nissan driving the other direction and noticed two teens in the rear seat trying to hide something. The cops then turned around to conduct a motor vehicle stop, according to officials who say a teen driving the car pulled over and fled the vehicle along with the front seat passenger.
The two kids in the rear of the car were detained after police noticed the butt of a gun protruding from underneath the seat. Police say it was a TEC-9 assault weapon equipped with a high-capacity magazine — the same type of weapon that was previously used in highprofile mass shootings such as the Columbine High School massacre.
TEC-9s are banned in several U.S. states.
The two 14-year-olds were charged with weapons possession and released to their parents after a judge ordered them to wear ankle bracelets to monitor their whereabouts.
The second investigation happened less than an hour later in the 200 block of Fulton Street where detectives encountered three juveniles. When the teens saw police, officials say, one of them grabbed his waistband. Officials say detectives noticed a heavy object in that kid’s coat, so they detained him.
When cops searched the juvenile, they found a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets. The 16-yearold kid was charged with weapons possession and released to his mother. The other two teens were not charged with a criminal offense.
An Associated Press and USA Today investigation published earlier this year ranked Trenton among the top 10 cities with the highest rates of teen shootings.