OAKTON, Va. — A loaded handgun was found in a student's car at Flint Hill School, a private school in Oakton, Virginia on Feb. 12, 2019. How the security team found the gun was happenstance.
"Our security teams were out patrolling the parking lots," and not looking for anything in particular, said Angela Brown, Flint Hill's Director of Marketing and Communications. They noticed a truck with the windows rolled down. It was raining and the interior was getting wet.
"So, as a first step, they tried to determine the owner ... they entered the car, they went into the center console between the driver and passenger seats and immediately they were able to see the handgun," Brown said. She said it was very visible in the console.
No threat was ever made to the school. The student was a senior, the car and gun belonged to his father. It is possible the student did not even know the gun was there, Brown said.
Officials said there were two crimes that were committed: possession of a weapon on school property and having a concealed weapon without a permit. But Fairfax County Police said they did not file charges because the school did not want to press charges.
"There was no clear threat. No one was ever in danger," Brown said. "We don't think the student brought the gun to school internationally and, so rather than having a very serve consequence for the young man that was involved, we decided that we discipline him in a way that was more in line with our own policy of not tolerating weapons or drugs or alcohol to be brought on campus, rather than pressing charges."
Flint Hill expelled the high school senior. High school tuition at Flint Hill is more than $40,000 a year. Brown said it was a tough decision.
"We try to balance our empathy with the safety of the community," Brown said. "We really do view this as a safety issue."
If there had been any indication the student had intended to harm anyone, the outcome would have been different, she added.
The incident and how the school handled it brings up questions about gun laws and ownership, and zero-tolerance policies at schools:
Should the student have been expelled?
Should charges have been filed?
Is zero tolerance too harsh?
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One thing is certain: the incident is a lesson in responsible gun ownership.