Student at Washington County middle school found with pistol

WASHINGTON COUNTY — On a cold Monday morning in Washington County, parents started their day with an alert that a gun was found at Trinity Middle School.

“It’s just disgusting, I mean where are the parents?” said Jim White who lives in Washington.

In a letter to the community, Trinity School District said a student brought an unloaded hand pistol to school where a group of other students reported it to the administration.

“It’s a reminder that it’s not just in urban areas it’s everywhere in PA. Access to firearms is not just a threat for young people but everyone,” said Josh Fleitman with CeaseFire PA.

The district said an investigation showed the child had no intention of threatening or harming anyone, but it has parents asking where did the gun come from and why was it not locked up?

“In Pennsylvania there is currently no legal requirement to lock up your guns safely. 25 or more states do have that requirement. PA is just in the minority, and we support legislation that is quite simple. If the gun is not being used in a home, it needs to be locked up securely,” Fleitman said.

Fleitman told Channel 11 if this bill were to pass it would be another safety measure to keep kids out of situations like this one.

“This is absolutely a wake-up call that gun safety needs to be top of mind for lawmakers, parents, teachers and really everyone in the community. It truly takes a village to keep the whole village safe and this is an example where there are cracks in the system and luckily no one got hurt this time,” Fleitman said.

In that letter, the district said the student will be criminally charged on top of the school’s punishment.

Channel 11 made multiple calls to the superintendent for comment, but was told he was unavailable.

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