Child finds gun at school: Proper reaction prevents possible tragedy

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

With West Elementary students playing in the background, Zach Latka, 5, and teacher Nichole Douglas kneel at the spot where Zach found a loaded Colt .45. (James Clark photo)

A loaded and cocked handgun was found by a kindergarten student and his mother at West Elementary School Tuesday after an off-duty security officer accidentally dropped the weapon near the school’s playground area.

Police have leveled misdemeanor charges of carrying a weapon on school property against the gun-owner, Steve Sweet. The charge is a Class B misdemeanor holding a maximum 11-month, 29-day sentence and a fine. Police do not believe there was any ill-intent by Sweet in carrying the weapon on his person, but instead that his actions constituted a technical violation of the law.

The gun was found about 20 minutes after Sweet had left the school after picking up his daughter. Sweet told West Elementary principal Troy Jones he had been playing around with his daughter and that was likely the reason his loaded Colt .45 fell from the gun holster around his waist. Sweet was not available for comment Thursday.

“He was being a good father, running and playing with his daughter on his way back to the car,” said Jones. “That’s apparently when the gun fell out.”

The gun was found near the circle drive in front of the school where students are picked up. The location is several yards from the playground.

Zach Latka, a 5-year-old kindergarten student, noticed the gun when he was walking to get in the car with his mother, Tonya. Zach’s 9-year-old brother, Taylor, was also there.

“Taylor said, ‘Look mama, is that a real gun?’ And it was a real gun,” said Zach. “If another person found it, they may have fired it.”

While Zach and his mother kept an eye on the gun, Taylor ran over to a group of teachers to tell them about the finding. Teacher Nichole Douglas rushed over, realized the seriousness of the situation, and immediately took the gun to the principal.

“I picked it up with one finger,” said Douglas, showing how she looped her index finger around the trigger protector. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a gun at school and I hope I never see one again.”

Once the gun was taken to Jones, he immediately called police. He praised the student and the teacher for taking appropriate action.

“Everybody did what they should have done,” said Jones. “And that’s what we always tell them in safety awareness. If you see a gun, leave it alone.”

Police had already taken the handgun into evidence by the time Sweet returned to the school to claim his firearm. At that time, Sweet explained he did not realize the gun had fallen out of his holster.

“It was a disaster averted,” McMinnville Police Capt. Bryan Denton said, noting it was fortunate a child did not mistake the gun for a toy.

Sweet works for a private security firm and is not affiliated with school security or any local police department. Sweet was licensed to carry the weapon; however, he was not permitted to carry the gun onto school grounds.

Signs are located outside the school warning that possession of firearms on school grounds is against the law. Only police officers and school security personnel are allowed to carry firearms on school property.