GILROY
– Gilroy police arrested a high-school-aged juvenile with a
pellet gun Thursday morning near Las Animas Park, a recreation spot
in the vicinity of three local schools, after the suspect
brandished a weapon in front of an adult at the 8500 block of Wren
Avenue.
GILROY – Gilroy police arrested a high-school-aged juvenile with a pellet gun Thursday morning near Las Animas Park, a recreation spot in the vicinity of three local schools, after the suspect brandished a weapon in front of an adult at the 8500 block of Wren Avenue.
The youth did not shoot the pellet handgun, police said, but was taken into custody after a nearly one-hour search of the Wren Avenue and Mantelli Drive area of town. Police received calls from more than one area resident between 9:11 and 10:30 a.m. reporting a person openly carrying a weapon. The boy did not brandish the weapon at any park-goers or students in the area, police said.
Mt. Madonna Principal John Perales confirmed he placed his school in a partial lock down mode, keeping students inside the classroom during the morning break period. It is not clear how many other schools went into lock down mode because of the incident. Police said they notified the schools in the area – Rod Kelley and Las Animas elementary schools – as well as Gilroy’s two high schools – Gilroy High School and Mt. Madonna.
“There was no imminent danger, so we didn’t lock doors or keep kids away from windows and under their desks,” Perales said.
Perales did not know if the juvenile was a student at Mt. Madonna.
The incident follows a Dec. 11 pellet gun shooting at Gilroy High School by a 13-year-old boy. The boy fired six or seven rounds that grazed several students and hit one freshman student on the lower leg.
The 13-year-old was sentenced to four months at the county’s juvenile detention ranch.
