[b]"I don't feel there's a safety concern, but if one student says there is, we need to address it," said PTA president Rosemary Ganpot, whose son is a 10th-grader at the school.[/b]
Guns smuggled into school easily, students say after shooting injures two


By SARA KUGLER
The Associated Press
1/16/02 6:10 AM


NEW YORK (AP) -- Students at the New York City high school where two teen-agers were shot in a hallway said it was easy to bring guns inside, despite metal detectors at the entrance.

Andrel Napper, 17, and Andre Wilkins, 18, were shot from behind Tuesday during last period at Martin Luther King Jr. High School near Lincoln Center, authorities said. One was wounded in the back and the other in the buttocks. Both were hospitalized Tuesday night; one was in serious condition and the other was listed as stable.

The shooting -- the first inside a New York City public school since September 1994 -- occurred on what would have been the 73rd birthday of the school's namesake. Additional guidance counselors were expected to be on hand Wednesday when classes were to resume.

No one had been arrested in the shooting, which Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said may have stemmed from a dispute about a girl. Police questioned an 18-year-old and later arrested him for an outstanding warrant unrelated to the shooting, said Lt. Brian Burke, a police department spokesman.

Students said each morning they pass through metal detectors that detect weapons, cellular telephones and pagers, which are all prohibited. But several students said their peers sneak weapons in through side doors that are locked from the outside and aren't manned by security guards.

"There's a lack of security, that's the problem with this school," said senior Sabrena Pringle, 17, the student body president. "A student goes in, gets scanned, opens up a side door, lets another student in. It's as simple as that."

Levy told reporters that "security is an issue in this school."

"I'm aware of that and we've been working on it," he said.

There have been 10 cases of weapons possession this year at the school, double the number for the same period last year, according to police statistics.

Levy said 13 security guards and two police officers patrol the school and its 3,000 students.

"I'm upset because, as student body president, I have begged for more security and we have been denied," Pringle said. "Not everyone feels safe."

A .380-caliber handgun was recovered on the school's fifth floor, along with three shell casings, said police Chief of Patrol William Morange.

"I don't feel there's a safety concern, but if one student says there is, we need to address it," said PTA president Rosemary Ganpot, whose son is a 10th-grader at the school.


------

Associated Press Writers Donna De La Cruz and Rick Bersnak contributed to this report

[b]HUH??[/b]   [puke]

This can't be true.  Handguns are illegal in NYC.

you're right!
handguns are banned in NYC, this is clearly a fabrication.

It had to be a cop who did this because they are the only one's allowed to carry a handgun in NYC.  I mean, non-LE can't have handguns!  The lawmakers have seen to that, haven't they?

Clearly a fabrication or cover up... [;D]

AND i bet if the truth be known....(the following is speculation)

The victims were drug users / pushers who failed to pay their dealer, who likely already has a felony conviction.

Thus the shooter is ALSO prohibited from owning a firearm by his likely felony conviction.

DEFEINITELY a fabrication, cuz we all know it is IMPOSSIBLE for a felon to get a gun, since background cheks are a Federal requirement.

It can't be the kids, it must be the:

(pick one or more)

1.  gun
2.  security
3.  upbringing
4.  social conditions
5.  evil gun lobby
6.  saturday night special
7.  "easy" states
8.  television
9.  video games
10. TWINKIES!

The officials still havn't figured out that these gun laws are for law abiding citizens.  Its not that they want to keep guns out of criminal hands they know they can't do this. They want to keep them away from the rest of us.

Benjamin

No, they have figured out that gun laws don't keep guns out of the hands of criminals.  They are way beyond that.  Most gun grabbers don't even bother to use the "criminal" excuse anymore, they're perfectly fine stating that they're trying to take guns out of everybody's hands.  Gun control has never and will never have anything to do with criminals, it is the method by which the "State" effectively controls the populace, that's it.  An armed populace is much more resistant to submission.

Grade: A+

Read it, learn it, know it.

must be those evil video games

eorse part is, a situation similar to this may happen in a school in my area.

there is a verifiable threat and some guns were stolen from a local man. it seem like they want something to happen b/c they know who has the weapons, (yes some students at the school), and they refuse to go after them. they are only haveing a search / check in at the school. no real action.

for some reason i smell a rat in all this.