Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
6-year-old takes gun to school
NORRISTOWN >> A Norristown woman allowed her two sons, ages 6 and 10, to have unrestricted access to a loaded handgun, which authorities alleged was carried onto a school bus by the younger boy and placed numerous children in danger, according to court documents.
Jasmin Charnise Devlin, 30, of the 300 block of George Street, was arraigned before District Court Judge Albert J. Augustine on Tuesday on charges of endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with alleged incidents that occurred on Feb. 8 at her residence and on Feb. 9 at the Joseph K. Gotwals Elementary School on East Oak Street in Norristown.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Norristown Acting Police Chief Michael Bishop announced Devlin’s arrest on Wednesday.
“This incident is a frightening reminder of the fact that children can and do find unsecured firearms in a home, and they play with them,” Steele said. “Thankfully, these young boys were not shot or injured in their home, and no one was shot or injured at school thanks to the quick action by school personnel.”
Bishop praised students who told school officials what they observed on the school bus and prevented a tragedy.
“These children are the true heroes in this unfortunate incident. Their notification to school officials resulted in an immediate response by Norristown Police, ensuring the safety of everyone at the school,”
Bishop said.
“Jasmin Devlin endangered her children and the lives of the children on the school bus when she failed to secure a loaded 9mm Jimenez Arms handgun which enabled her 6-year-old child and 10-year-old child to have unrestricted access to the firearm,” Norristown Detective Joshua Keenan alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Augustine set Devlin’s bail at $50,000 unsecured and she will remain free pending a Feb. 24 preliminary hearing on the charges before District Court Judge Francis J. Lawrence Jr. As a condition of bail, Devlin is prohibited from having contact with children.
The charges carry a possible maximum sentence of 4½ to 8 years in prison upon conviction. Assistant District Attorney William Highland, captain of the district attorney’s firearms unit, is prosecuting the case. It could not be determined on Wednesday if Devlin had legal representation.
An investigation by Norristown detectives began on Feb. 9 when the principal of the elementary school contacted authorities to report a child with a gun. Investigators, including a school resource officer, went to the school and met with the 6-year-old boy and school staff.
Detectives were directed to a “Marvel Super Hero” backpack that had a gun in it, according to a criminal complaint. Detectives recovered the bag and inside observed a 9mm Jimenez Arms semiautomatic handgun along with eight loose 9mm bullets, according to the arrest affidavit.
A school secretary told investigators that the boy arrived at the school on School Bus 50 and that as soon as the bus arrived at the school, “a group of students came running into the school” and told her that the boy was on the bus and was “showing other students a real gun and bullets,” according to the criminal complaint. A juvenile provided the secretary with a bullet that was from the 6-year-old boy’s gun, court papers indicate.
School officials immediately brought the 6-year-old boy to an office and looked in the school bag and discovered the gun, court documents indicate.
When detectives interviewed the boy, he relayed that on the evening of Feb. 8, he was in his mother’s bedroom looking for a charger for his 10-year-old brother’s laptop computer when the older boy found a gun in their mother’s dresser and pulled it out and “the two started playing with it,” according to the criminal complaint.
The younger boy told detectives that the older boy took the bullets out of the gun and was pointing it at him and pretending to shoot him, according to court documents. The younger boy reportedly told detectives the gun made noises as his brother pointed the gun at him.
“I asked (the 6-year-old boy) if he was scared and he said he was afraid, that he was scared that the gun had more bullets in it,” Keenan alleged.
The younger boy told detectives that he went to bed and woke up from a bad dream.
“(The 6-year-old boy) stated that after the bad dream he went into his mother’s room and took the gun and put it in his backpack,” Keenan wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Detectives indicated they asked the boy if the gun was locked or in a safe and he described the gun as being in a dresser drawer in his mother’s bedroom. Detectives alleged the drawer was roughly 5-feet from ground level.
“The firearm was left in a location in which both children had unrestricted access to it. This reckless behavior was evidenced by the fact that the children were able to play with the firearm unsupervised on the evening of February 8, 2023,” Keenan alleged, adding the 6-year-old boy was able to gain access to the gun without restriction during the overnight hours.
Detectives alleged the 6-yearold boy had unrestricted access to the gun on the morning of Feb. 9 when he was able to carry the gun onto his school bus without Devlin having knowledge of its location “or the fact that a school bus filled with elementary age students had access and possession of it.
“The ammunition recovered was live and unfired,” Keenan said. “(The 6-year-old boy) explained how he removed the ammunition from the firearm by pushing the button and ‘pulling it.’ Based on this description, I believe (the 6-year-old) removed the magazine from the gun, meaning that it was loaded with ammunition at the time he retrieved it from Jasmin Devlin’s bedroom and brought it onto the school bus.”
Detectives determined that the handgun was linked to a previous investigation in March 2022 during which the gun was identified as being illegally transferred, commonly referred to as a “straw purchase,” according to court papers.
“This case is also a reminder of just how dangerous straw purchased firearms are,” Steele said.
During that previous investigation, a man told detectives that on March 4, 2022, he purchased the gun, as well as two other 9mm handguns, and then illegally sold the firearms to a person who he stated “was probably not allowed to purchase firearms for himself,” Keenan alleged in the arrest affidavit.
“Based on my training, knowledge and experience surrounding firearms and the lawful transfer of firearms, I know that Jasmin Devlin could not have purchased or received this firearm in a legal transaction from a gun store,” Keenan alleged. “I believe that Jasmin Devlin was in possession of a firearm that was illegally purchased and transferred.”
Devlin has not been charged with any weapons offenses.
The alleged Norristown incident comes just weeks after a 6-year-old boy took a gun to a Virginia elementary school and allegedly shot and wounded a teacher. That alleged Jan. 6 incident in Newport News, Va., drew national media attention.