Gardena High shooting suspect stole gun from his stepfather, source says
The 17-year-old student who took a loaded gun to Gardena High School in his backpack and then ran when it accidentally discharged, reportedly stole the weapon from his stepfather, according to a source.
A single round from the 9-millimeter Beretta tore through a 15-year-old boy’s neck and struck a girl in the skull. She remains in critical condition. The boy was discharged from the hospital.
A source familiar with the investigation said that in the chaos after the mid-morning shooting Tuesday, the suspect gave his backpack to a girl and that another boy provided him with a sweatshirt to change his appearance.
One of the suspects also gave him money for bus fare to flee the area, the source said. Police said the backpack has not been located.
The 17-year-old, along with the two students who allegedly helped him, is expected to appear Friday in Juvenile Court. Police said he’s likely to be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The student, according to the source, is on probation for a misdemeanor battery conviction.
Despite the weapons search, some parents were wary of promises of change and doubted that enforcement would be long-term.
“I bet you after two weeks it’s going to go back to how it was,” said Gabriela Alvizo, whose 11th-grade daughter was shaken up after Tuesday’s incident.
Albert Partida was not overly concerned about safety at the school. What did disturb him was hearing fellow parents say their children had friends who took guns to school for protection.
“If my son came to me and told me this guy had a gun, I would go and tell the school,” said Partida, whose son is in the 10th grade. “So how are you supposed to prevent this? If you see something, tell someone, don’t just complain about it.”
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-- Andrew Blankstein
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Hopefully they charge the stepfather for not securing his handgun allowing a thug access to it. They should be held accountable...
Posted by: TruBlu | January 19, 2011 at 07:53 PM
Throw the stepfather in prison! It is on HIM. The kid "stole the weapon from his stepfather"? Hey moron, you ever hear of a gun safe?
Posted by: Mark | January 19, 2011 at 08:05 PM
So, additional laws would not have changed anything, eh
Posted by: Mick | January 19, 2011 at 08:48 PM
Can't blame the dad, the kid was a threat to himself carrying a loaded weapon around. 9mm FMJ, just zip passed anything soft.
Posted by: Montana Gold- | January 19, 2011 at 09:22 PM
add stealing to his many crimes!
Posted by: kuruc | January 19, 2011 at 09:36 PM
parents should both be arrested and charged for having a gun unlocked and in easy access at home.
What are they thinking?
Oh, that's right. Some parents don't think.
How sad that the 2 students who were hit (wrong place, wrong time) were doing nothing more than sitting in class, trying to learn.
Totally innocent bystanders.
Posted by: Cyndy Greger | January 20, 2011 at 02:10 AM
Typical gangster mentality, thug "A" shoots a person, a person known to the whole class cuz its their friggin classmate, and thugs "B" and "C" help conceal the crime. That has "gangster" written all over it.
An shooting "accident" is a lightning bolt hitting the gun and making it go off, or the powder in the bullet spontaneously combusting. otherwise it was "negligent" not an accident.
Lets already try to dismiss the incident cuz this thug didnt really mean it.
Posted by: tirstay13 | January 20, 2011 at 05:56 AM
LA teachers, I blame them for this. UTLA's fault! Come on LAT jump on the bandwagon and blame teachers for this. You too Antonio Villar.
Posted by: WasDaMadderYou | January 20, 2011 at 06:13 AM
Yes, the step father need (should) to be charged with having a unsecured weapon that was accessible to a juvenile. Being that the student has a prior for battery I think he should be tried as an adult as well as the kids that help him. I agree with the parent that stated that other parents that have heard about kids bringing guns to school and not doing anything about it need to be held accountable as well. This is unfortunately what has become of our school system parents absolve themselves of responsibilities and it becomes a school problem. No wonder there is a 60% drop out rate in these schools.
Posted by: OCMEGA | January 20, 2011 at 07:11 AM
How is this different from concealed carry in any other context? The kid's need for protection might not have been less acute than anyone else's. Who's to say he was more negligent than many adults who should be "packing" according to CC advocates? What makes "packing" in schools categorically worse than letting practically anyone carry on the streets?
Posted by: David | January 20, 2011 at 09:28 AM
When I was a teen MANY YEARS AGO, lots of students carried weapons to school, BUT we NEVER had an in-school, or on school-grounds shooting OR knifing!
THEY took it OFF the school grounds!
Posted by: Diana | January 20, 2011 at 09:33 AM
If parents own guns they need to be responsible enough to at least keep bullets separate from the unloaded gun and both kept locked up. Why wasn't a safety set. Why did the kid have a gun? This is so crazy!
Posted by: Ginny Coonrod | January 20, 2011 at 09:56 AM
I am sure that I will alienate the Rifle Association when I again say there are simply too many guns floating around in this country. There's nothing macho about a firearm. You don't need a gun for "protection" against something that you hope won't happen. When everybody's armed, then you need protection against everybody. Don't say Boo to your neighbor when he's feeling cross.
Forget what it says in the constitution; it was written when there was danger from marauding indians and renegades when in many areas there was no established law enforcement. Carrying or owning firearms is simply not applicable in these times.
Posted by: schmendric | January 20, 2011 at 10:43 AM
David, you're a moron. Schmendrick, you need to ask someone to explain to you what the 2nd amendment was intended to protect.
Posted by: Mcgibby | January 20, 2011 at 03:45 PM
Oh, and Schmendrick, I'll take the "marauding indians" any day over what exists in this city.
Posted by: Mcgibby | January 20, 2011 at 03:46 PM
This is all Obama's fault. Not george bush, but barack obama's. He should have been on the scene immediately. Them democrates are always up to no good.
Posted by: Craig | January 20, 2011 at 04:33 PM
Ok if the boy supposedly brought the gun to school more than once why nobody go tell anybody. & if he really wanted to shot/kill someone at the school i think he would have did it.cut him some slack. hopefully they charge the stepfather for not securing his handgun. He should be held accountable. & yes he was wrong for bringing a firearm on school grounds but you don't know what was going on with him outside of school.
" You never really understand a person until you consider things from his/her point of view"
Posted by: Jessekah Maire | January 20, 2011 at 06:38 PM
The schools need to ban backpacks and require that purses be mesh and or see-thru.
Some schools around the country have done this to avoid the slow down of checking students. Students and staff adjust and everyone feels safer.
Of course, pockets still can hold "stuff" but it would certainly discourage a loaded handgun. And if one went off by mistake, the person carrying it might be the recipient of the bullet.
Posted by: NorthernCA Teacher | January 22, 2011 at 03:50 PM