Paterson 14-year-old allegedly brought loaded gun to school

PATERSON – A 14-year-old student was arrested at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School on Wednesday afternoon for allegedly bringing a loaded, semiautomatic handgun into the building, police said.

The gun was found when juvenile division detectives went to the school to question the boy about his suspected role in an armed robbery, police said.

Authorities have not revealed whether the child was charged with the armed robbery, or only with gun possession.

The president of Paterson’s teachers’ union, John McEntee Jr., was angry on Thursday afternoon, saying Superintendent Laurie Newell had not provided him with any information about what occurred at the school more than a day after the incident.

“If these allegations turn out to be true, I’m very concerned about how that gun made it into the school and why we have not been told about the emergency that took place,” McEntee said. “Part of my responsibility as union president is to ensure that procedures are put in place to prevent this king of thing.”

Paterson school district officials issued issued a statement about the arrest late Thursday afternoon.

“The Paterson Police arrived at the school to arrest a student on charges unrelated to the school,” said the district. “While they were searching the student, they discovered a handgun.”

“The school was placed on a brief lockdown, during which the student was escorted from the building by the police without incident,” the district added. “All of the necessary precautions are being taken.”

‘Obviously very concerning’

Paterson Board of Education president Manny Martinez reacted to the report of the child having the gun in school.

“It’s obviously very concerning when you hear about a 14-year-old who feels it’s necessary to carry a gun for his own protection,” Martinez said.

The school, at the corner of East 28th Street and 20th Avenue in Paterson’s 5th Ward, had about 550 students in kindergarten through eighth grade during the 2022-23 year, according to state Education Department records. The school had no reported incidents of violence or weapons in 2022-23, school performance reports said.

The entire district last year had 20 weapons incidents that were reported to police, the state reports said. But the reports do not show how many of the weapons seized were guns.

King school includes a program for children with behavior problems.