Two 13-year-old Juveniles Arrested: Possession of Dangerous Weapon on School Facilities
Spokane Valley Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 2 juvenile males for bringing an airsoft pistol to University Elementary, yesterday evening. At one point, one suspect pulled the airsoft pistol from his pocket and used it to tap on a classroom window, as the second goaded him on, during student/teacher conferences.
On November 15, 2018, just prior to 6:00 p.m., Spokane Valley Deputies responded to the report of a juvenile with a gun outside University Elementary, located at 1613 S. University Rd. in Spokane Valley.
The caller stated the student was captured on surveillance video outside the school with a hand gun, looking through windows of the school. School was not in session, but teachers and parents were inside the school for student/teacher conferences.
Deputies responding to the school searched the area and did not locate the suspect.
Deputy Van Patten viewed the video surveillance footage and observed two juvenile males with what appeared to be a firearm. In the video, the juveniles passed the handgun back and forth. One, pulled his hoodie over his head, cinched it down, and began looking in the window of a classroom. He produced the pistol from his pocket, pulled the slide back as if he was loading it, and tapped on the classroom window with the pistol. Then, both males quickly hid on the ground beneath the window. A short time later, both began peering through the window again, as the one with the pistol worked the action again. The second male appeared to be speaking to the one with the pistol during the incident.
A teacher recognized one of the juvenile males from the video and provided his name.
Deputy Van Patten contacted the identified juvenile male at his residence. He was wearing the same clothing as seen in the surveillance video. The juvenile male admitted to being at the school with a friend and they had an airsoft gun with them. They were shooting the pistol at windows of the school; he was aware teacher conferences were taking place, and they wanted to annoy them. He also was aware of the signs all around the school stating firearms and weapons were not allowed at the school because of school shootings. His friend tapped on the window with the handgun and had pulled his hood over his head before so he wouldn’t be seen on the surveillance camera. He admitted to encouraging his friend to continue tapping on the window of the classroom with the pistol.
When he was advised he was under arrest for Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on School Facilities, a gross misdemeanor, he became upset and immediately said he didn’t care, he would be released tomorrow anyway. When Deputy Spencer asked him if he wanted to end up in prison, he stated he wouldn’t and that he wouldn’t be caught next time. He further explained, all cops were stupid and he was smarter than them. He was transported and booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Facility.
Deputy Van Patten went to the second juvenile male’s residence and contacted him. He confessed to having the airsoft gun at school with his friend. He stated they were shooting it at the windows of the school while teacher conferences were taking place because they thought it was funny. He said the pistol was “very realistic looking” and it was in his room on his bed. The male’s mother retrieved the airsoft pistol possessed by the juvenile males, which was a spring or CO2 powered airsoft pistol.
He was arrested for Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on School Facilities (RCW 9.41.280) and booked into Spokane County Juvenile Detention.
