Sarah T. Reed Elementary charter school

“Eighth grader arrested with gun on Reed Elementary School campus.” WWLTV (LA), 8/22/2011

NEW ORLEANS – An eighth-grade student at Reed Elementary School in New Orleans East was arrested Monday afternoon after a teacher discovered an unloaded gun in his bag, school officials said.

Bill Murphy, the chief academic officer at Reed, confirmed to Eyewitness News that the gun was discovered shortly after 1 p.m., when a teacher noticed the student, whom he would not identify, was acting out of character.

The teacher noticed other students seemed to sense some sort of trouble, Murphy said, which led the teacher to approach the student, and ask him to search his bookbag. The teacher noticed the student was holding the bag close to his body, Murphy said.

The teacher asked if the student would allow the bag to be searched, to which the student agreed, Murphy said. When the bag was opened, the teacher found the unloaded gun inside. He was asked if it was his, and he said it was, according to school officials.

The student was taken to meet with school administrators and his parents and police were notified, Murphy said.

Murphy said the incident was handled exactly the way school policy dictates, and “90 percent of the students” probably had no idea what had happened. Classes resumed as normal.

Reed Elementary is a charter school operated by the Renew Charter Management Organization.