Newton boy charged in BB shooting of 4 students
A 13-year-old boy accused of shooting four other students with a BB gun at the F.A. Day Middle School in Newton Friday faces four juvenile counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, police said yesterday.
The suspect, whose name was not released because of his age, pulled a BB gun from his backpack and began firing at a large crowd of students who were waiting for a bus, according to a Newton police report.
The report said students were waiting by the Gath Pool near Albemarle Field at around 4:15 p.m. Friday, shortly after the dismissal of after-school activities held at the field.
The BB gun was covered with the shooter’s shirt, but several students said they observed a black barrel with an orange tip sticking out.
“All of a sudden [one student] heard a click, click, click sound,’’ the police report says. “[The suspect] pointed the thing at him, and he heard a click sound, and the right arm on his shirt ripped, and he felt pain. . . . There was a small welt on the student’s deltoid muscle.’’
Police said they interviewed four boys at the school who said they were hit, and each had visible welts.
One was shot on his arm, another on the calf, another on the back of the neck, and another on the abdomen.
Officials said they offered to call ambulances for the boys, but each victim declined.
Police said they found the suspect at his home and retrieved a KWC BB gun, which is a replica of a Smith and Wesson Model 4506, and a small nylon bag containing several hundred plastic BBs.
Police filed a complaint against the youth in Waltham District Court (Juvenile Session).
The school principal, Gina Healy, e-mailed parents late Monday afternoon to inform them of what she called a “disturbing incident.’’
In a phone interview yesterday, the deputy superintendent of Newton schools, Paul Stein, said school officials were not immediately aware of the incident because it occurred after school on Friday.
“We’re mostly concerned that a student would somehow think that is OK to do,’’ said Stein. “It’s completely unacceptable.’’
Healy said the punishment the student will face will not be disclosed because it would violate the youth’s privacy rights. However, she said it will be serious.
