Student accused of bringing gun to high school arrested

WATERBURY, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) - Two schools in Waterbury were ordered to shelter in place on Thursday morning when it was discovered that a student brought a gun to school, authorities said.

Waterbury police said they arrested 18-year-old Lashawn Nance.

The weapon was brought to Crosby High School, school officials noted. The shelter-in-place order was for the high school and Wallace Middle School.

Police said a .22mm gun was in Nance’s bookbag.

“Unfortunately, it’s something we’re seeing way too often,” said Pina Violano, fellow for the State’s Commission on Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention.

She said her group has conducted several gun buybacks and gun violence surveys for nearly a decade.

She told WFSB about some of the common ways such weapons end up in students’ hands.

“They’ve been stolen. Many are coming up from different states and crossing the borders here and coming from homes that don’t secure their weapons,” Pina said.

There is no clear-cut solution to the issue, she explained, but there are ways to mitigate access.

“Make sure people who shouldn’t have access to them don’t have access, like children, like folks that are suicidal like people that have Alzheimer’s, domestic violence, and of course, people who want to commit a crime,” Pina advised.

The school released a statement that said students and staff were safe, and the shelter-in-place was lifted.

The Waterbury Police Department said it responded immediately once the school administration was made aware of the weapon.

Nance was charged with criminal possession of a revolver, possession of a weapon on school grounds, carrying a pistol without a permit, theft of a firearm, risk of injury to a minor and second-degree breach of peace.

His bond was not yet announced.

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