BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that a 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The district attorney's office said on December 16, 2021, Buffalo police responded to the Bennett Community School Campus on Main Street to investigate the report of a gun inside the school. A shelter-in-place was issued as police searched the building and officers found a loaded, illegal pistol inside of the student's backpack.
The 16-year-old boy, who now lives in Rochester, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2023. If adjudicated as a youthful offender, the maximum sentence he faces is an indeterminate period of between 1 1/3 to 4 years. He continues to remain released on $25,000 bail posted after his initial arraignment in Youth Part.
“While I am thankful that no one was injured during this incident, this teenager committed 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."