GUN AT SCHOOL?
C.R.E.A.T.E. 10-grader facing charges

Saturday, January 19, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A student at C.R.E.A.T.E. Charter High School in Jersey City may have tried to enter the school Thursday carrying a gun, according to police reports.

The 10th-grade student set off a metal detector at a school entrance shortly after 9 a.m., police said. When a security guard patted him down and felt what she thought was a gun, the student pushed her arm away and ran from the building, reports said.

The 16-year-old was arrested later Thursday and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon in an educational institution, unlawful possession of a weapon by a minor and aggravated assault, Police Lt. Edgar Martinez said.

A Jan. 31 expulsion hearing is set for the student, who claimed he was only carrying a pair of pliers, said the school's executive director, Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski.

On Wednesday, a group of students from Snyder and Lincoln high schools - who had a half-day of school - came to the school and had an altercation with C.R.E.A.T.E. students, which may have led to the student allegedly bringing the gun, Lipski said.

He said the school's teachers are close to their 380 students and are usually able to defuse situations before they pose a risk.

"We generally get a heads-up when something's going on."

PAUL KOEPP can be reached at (201) 217-2400.