Last week, Skinner Middle Schools was placed on lockdown after reports that three students were in possession of weapons.
Now, the trio — a fourteen-year-old and two twelve-year-olds (one of whom was only eleven at the time of the incident) — has been formally charged as juveniles with felonies and more related to the incident.
In addition, a redacted police report, on view below, reveals further information about the arrests, including evidence that the youngest of the group was found with an incendiary device, later determined to have been a smoke bomb, plus "suspected" cocaine and hash.
On April 10, according to the various statements of probable cause included in the documents, officers were dispatched to Skinner, located at 3435 West 40th Avenue, in regard to a student in possession of a handgun.
The report says a student had told staffers she'd seen the gun and "heard a possible threat to injure a teacher."
That student, the fourteen-year-old, was placed in custody without incident, and a gun was found in his backpack.
The weapon is described as being loaded.
The probable-cause statement related to another student, age twelve, is virtually identical. Staffers contacted him and found a loaded firearm in his backpack after being alerted by a student who'd seen the weapon and heard a possible threat to a teacher.
The third juvenile was only eleven on April 10; he turned twelve earlier this week, on April 15.
The report about him says officers were told about a possible incendiary device inside the eleven-year-old's backpack.
They soon found it there, along with "a small wrapping containing suspected cocaine and another wrapping with suspected hash."
What were the latter items? Denver District Attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough isn't sure, but she confirms that they tested negative as controlled substances.
The juvenile accusations leveled by the Denver District Attorney's Office are as follows:
The fourteen-year-old and the first twelve-year-old have been charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony, and possession of a handgun by a juvenile, a misdemeanor. The other student, now twelve, faces a felony count related to what's characterized as an explosive/hoax, since the bomb would have only smoked, as opposed to causing potential injuries or worse.
The three remain in custody at a juvenile detention center. Their next court date has not yet been set, but owing to their ages and the DA's decision to charge them as juveniles, their names and photos are not being released.
Look below to see a 7News report in the immediate aftermath of the incident, followed by the aforementioned probable cause statements and charging documents.
Skinner Middle School PC Statements and Charging Documents
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