Carson High School swept for guns after students arrested for possessing firearm on campus
UPDATE Saturday: The Carson City School District issued the following statement regarding the incident:
The Carson City School District has learned that as a result of an investigation into an unrelated matter on Wednesday, Feb. 8, two individuals were arrested for allegedly possessing a firearm on school grounds on Monday, Feb. 6. The District is fully supportive of and cooperating with local law enforcement in their investigation. As ever, the District and the Sheriff’s Office keep the safety and well-being of students as the top priority. We want to assure our families and the community that we continue to be vigilant in our efforts to keep our students, staff and visitors safe.
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The Carson City Sheriff’s Office arrested two allegedly gang-related students on Wednesday, Feb. 8 for possessing a gun on school grounds.
The students were arrested at their homes following a report from the school district to the sheriff’s office.
This comes only two weeks after another teen gang-related shooting occurred on Carmine, during which one juvenile was shot in the face and another in the legs.
On Friday, a K-9 sweep of Carson High School was held, during which no additional guns were located.
According to Sheriff Ken Furlong, gun sweeps at the school may become a regular service the sheriff’s office provides.
“We look for the schools being the safest place in town and we appreciate the school district helping us achieve that,” Furlong said.
The Sheriff’s Office opted for the sweep after they became concerned with the increase in criminal behavior involving school-aged youths.
He cited not only the Carmine Street shooting, but the homicide that occurred in late December which also involved several juveniles as well.
“We’ve had a series of close calendar events that led us to the point where we wanted to take some preventive measure steps,” Furlong said.
Furlong went on that ongoing safety of the schools is a partnership between the district and the Sheriff’s Office.
“We’ve been working very closely with the school district and school superintendent who has graciously allowed us to bring some dogs into the school and do some sweeps,” Furlong said. “We want a safe environment but we realize sometimes young kids will do things they should not be doing.”
Furlong stated that the message to families is simple: secure your firearms.
“It is very frequent that when there’s a gun issue (involving youth), the gun belongs to the family,” Furlong said. “Secure your weapons and make our community safer.”