Thursday, 4:30 PM
Police arrest two Brighton middle school students after gun, drug allegations
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff
Two Thomas Edison Middle School students were charged today with drug possession, two days after fellow students accused them of brandishing a gun on a school bus, police said.
The boys, who are 14 and 15 years old, allegedly pulled out a gun Tuesday afternoon as students were being driven home. The students on the bus told school officials Wednesday, but the boys didn't attend the Brighton school on that day, said Officer Sharon Dottin, a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department.
The boys, who were not named because they are juveniles, were confronted by police when they showed up to school this morning and were found with marijuana, Dottin said.
The 15-year-old was charged with assault and battery on a police officer after he allegedly pushed a police officer during the confrontation, she said.
The gun has not been recovered, she said.
The arrests followed an incident on Wednesday in which two Charlestown High School students were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after police found a loaded .357 handgun behind a school wall. Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the city's public schools, said officials plan to look into both cases before deciding the fates of the students.
"We'll investigate and take whatever disciplinary action that is needed," he said.
Asked whether school officials are concerned about gun possession among students, Palumbo said, "If there is any good news in the story, is that students are not brining weapons into schools, whether it's because of the reporting and work of fellow students or the visual deterrence of metal detectors and security cameras.
"We're doing everything we can to work with police and school police on intelligence sharing and hope that our methods and our communication with our students continues to prevent weapons from getting into schools," Palumbo said.
