Charlestown students face gun charges

Two Charlestown High School juniors were arrested after an employee found a gun outside the school yesterday morning, police said.

Shawnice Fletcher, 18, and Jimmall Marshall, 17, were both charged with unlawful possession of a gun and ammunition several hours after a loaded .357 handgun was found behind a wall on school property, said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for Boston police.

The discovery -- the second time in about a month that school employees found a gun on or near school property -- renewed demands from school police for more staffing and safety materials, such as bulletproof vests.

A school employee found the gun about 8 a.m. behind the school on Walford Way and Polk Street, police said. He contacted school police, who called Boston authorities.

Boston officers reported finding the gun behind a red-brick wall under a yellow T-shirt.

Police did not say how they connected the gun to Fletcher and Marshall. However, a school official and a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation both said police became suspicious of Fletcher when she was seen on surveillance cameras enter ing and leaving the school.

It was unclear yesterday what roles Fletcher or Marshall allegedly had in the gun's placement behind the wall, but only Fletcher was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm on school property. Fletcher and Marshall are classmates in the same homeroom, the school official said.

Troy Askew, president of the Boston School Police Patrolmen's Association, said it is becoming more common for male students to give guns to female students because they know school police are unlikely to hold a female student for search unless a female administrator is present.

On March 29, a silver gun fell out of mats as students brought them from the Charlestown Community Center, according to a police report. A school employee turned it over to authorities.

The incidents highlight the need for school officers to receive bulletproof vests, Askew said.

"The guns are starting to climb up," Askew said. "We need staffing. We need equipment. Period."

Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said he was alarmed at hearing that a gun was recovered yesterday.

"It's a concern if somebody tried to bring a gun into school," he said. "There's a safety issue for other students and staff. Right now, it's being determined the reason why she brought the gun to school and how that plays into other things going on in the city."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.