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Student accused of bringing gun onto Hampton elementary school property arrested

Burbank Elementary School.PNG
Posted at 3:18 PM, Nov 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-05 17:17:44-04

HAMPTON, Va. - A student accused of bringing a gun onto the property of Burbank Elementary School Friday morning has been arrested.

Around 8:44 a.m., Hampton Police were notified of a weapons law violation at the school. Dispatchers received a call about a weapon on school property.

Police recovered a firearm and charged a juvenile male student with possession of firearm on school property, possession of firearm by a juvenile and concealed weapon.

The gun was loaded, but there was no bullet in the chamber.

As of 3 p.m., the scene is no longer active.

Authorities say there was no threat to the school.

News 3 has sent a crew to the school to learn more.

Burbank Elementary Principal Heidi Brezinski called parents and families after the incident. Brezinski said after receiving a tip a student may have had a weapon, school administrators were able to secure the student and the weapon immediately.

Other students were quickly removed from the classroom, but the school did not need to be placed on lockdown. The parents of the children who were in the arrested student's were personally contacted about the situation.

Brezinski said everything was resolved in less than five minutes. The student is not in school and is being disciplined by school administration.

Good afternoon, this is Heidi Brezinski, the principal at Burbank Elementary.

At Burbank, we take the education and safety of our students very seriously, and as such, I would like to apprise you of a situation that occurred today.

Earlier this morning, our school administration received a tip that one of our students may be in possession of a weapon. We took swift action and with our ability to secure the student and weapon immediately, which was in fact a firearm, as well as remove the other students quickly and safely from the classroom, we did not need to place the entire school on a lockdown. The situation was resolved in less than 5 minutes. Please note that the parents of the students who were in the student’s classroom have been personally contacted.

HCS is working in collaboration with the Hampton Police Division. I cannot provide detail about the discipline but please know the student is not in school and is being disciplined according to the HCS Student’s Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority and we will continue to take the appropriate measures to ensure our schools are safe.

We appreciate the partnership with our families to create and maintain the level of safety that we want for our school and we are continuing our day of teaching and learning at Burbank.

Please take the opportunity this evening to speak with your child about the need to say something if they see something. Because one of our students followed these words of advice, we were able to intervene quickly today.

Thank you again and please know that I am honored to serve the families at Burbank.
Heidi Brezinski, Burbank Elementary School principal

We spoke to a parent who did not want to go on camera, who, along with a school employee, told us it was a full day for everyone. The parent said she's concerned about a gun being in the school and prayed there would be no repeat of what happened at Heritage High School in Newport News in September, where a 15-year-old boy shot two students.

Burbank Elementary's assistant principal declined an interview with us.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Stay with News 3 for updates.