Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a 17-year-old male was arraigned this afternoon before Youth Part Judge Brenda Freedman on an indictment charging him with one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony) and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon on School Grounds (Class “E” felony).
It is alleged that on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at approximately 11:20 a.m., the adolescent offender, a student at Academy School #131, entered the school building on St. Lawrence Avenue in the City of Buffalo. As the adolescent offender walked through the weapon detection system, a school security officer allegedly found a disassembled handgun while searching his backpack. The adolescent offender fled after the weapon was confiscated. The school issued a brief lockdown and notified police. The illegal handgun, considered a “ghost gun,” was submitted into evidence by the Buffalo Police Department. The adolescent offender was arrested earlier today on the indictment warrant.
The adolescent offender is scheduled to return on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. for a motion decision. He was held without bail.
“While I am thankful that no one was injured during this incident, this teenager is accused of committing one of the most concerning and serious offenses – bringing a loaded handgun into school. Anyone who commits or threatens to commit a crime at any school in Erie County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Public School security officer and Detective Mike Laun and Detective Sergeant John Losi of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Chief Rachel L. Newton of the ERPO/Raise the Age Bureau.
As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
