SEATTLE (AP) — Students were expelled or suspended from a Washington state public school 45 times last year for bringing a handgun to class, according to new statewide data on weapons in school.
The guns were found in big districts and small, rural and urban. And the problem is nothing new for Washington state, according to the Weapons In School Report for the 2010-11 School Year.
State statistics on other weapons — from knives to shotguns — show a downward trend over the past decade. But the numbers of handgun incidents have remained steady around 45 to 47 over the past 10 years.
School safety experts warn, however, that these school statistics, and recent incidents including the accidental shooting of a girl in a Bremerton classroom, give school officials just a glimpse of a bigger problem.
