A 12 year boy was found carrying a gun and nine bullets into school in Jiménez de Pococí, Limón. The discovery was made Tuesday morning by two police officers after getting call from the school’s principal.
The Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (MSP) confirmed the find in a press release, saying the gun was a 9mm, in good condition and appears to have been fired recently.
Gustavo Mata, vice-ministro de Seguridad, commented on the importance of parents to monitor their children.
“Parents have a great deal of responsibility to do with an armed child in school. The household is the first line of defense against violence; that is why I call on parents to meet this responsibility within the family,” he said.
The school is in a quiet Pococí community. Adrian Salazar, Pococí chief of police, said the weapon and the minor are now in the custody of the Fiscalía Penal Juvenil (Juvile prosecutor’s office) in Pococí, to determine the cause of action in the case.,
According to the police report, the boy has been in the care of his grandmother for the last three years, while the parents are in Nicaragua.
On how the boy got his hands on a gun, the grandmother explained to police that a while back some Nicaraguan labourers working in the area stayed at her home, where they left the abandoned weapon.
According to the woman, the gun was always under a mattress and she did not realize the boy had taken it to school.