Students found with guns in separate school incidents

National

FIREARMS turned up on two school campuses this week, with students in Leyte and Basilan found in possession of guns in separate incidents.

In Biliran, Leyte, police confiscated a caliber .38 revolver from a pupil during a routine school visit at Pulang Bato Elementary School on July 29.

The school principal surrendered the firearm, which had no ammunition, after it was found in the possession of the student, a report by Philstar stated.

Following intervention by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Almeria, the child was turned over to the parents for diversion proceedings in accordance with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

Authorities are tracing the source of the firearm and investigating how the student was able to access it.

In a separate incident, a student was placed under police custody after allegedly bringing a firearm into a school campus in Isabela City, Basilan, on Wednesday.

Police said safety protocols were implemented at the school after the subject’s 15-year-old elder brother went to the campus and allegedly threatened the principal and teachers who had reported and detained the student.

Police investigators also disclosed that the registered owner of the firearm had reported the gun stolen after leaving his vehicle at a car wash station.

The incidents came as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers yesterday expressed alarm over what it described as a disturbing rise in violence endangering students and educators.

The group issued the statement following the death of a teacher in New Washington, Aklan, after a 19-year-old suspect allegedly punched the victim several times.(MyTVCebu)