Police said a 13-year-old boy who is a student at a middle school in Fordham Heights was arrested after he was allegedly found to be in possession of a loaded gun on Thursday. Meanwhile, on the same day, in the Longwood section of the borough, two teenagers were shot, one fatally.

 

An NYPD spokesperson said that on Thursday, Jan. 19, at around 9.20 a.m., police were alerted that there was a gun found inside M.S. 363 (previously M.S. 399) Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence, located at 120 East 184th Street in Fordham Heights. “Upon arrival, school safety agents stated that a 13-year-old male student was in possession of a loaded .22 revolver, an imitation firearm, ammunition, and a boxcutter in his backpack,” the spokesperson said.

 

The teen was taken into custody by a school safety agent and later taken to the 46th Precinct, police said. There were no injuries reported as a result of the incident. Police added that the school does not have a scanning system (metal detector) in place. The unnamed student was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon.

 

During a follow-up call with the NYPD on Friday, Jan. 20, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed that the NYPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU) had been requested to conduct a weapons search at the school. “It was a gun, a revolver and he also had an imitation firearm,” the spokesperson said. It was also confirmed by police that the imitation weapon was a gel blaster.

 

Asked what that was exactly, the spokesperson said, “It’s like a toy. It shoots like water pellet gel things… it only shoots these water gel pellets… but they sometimes look like real firearms.”  Police had recovered bullets for the actual [real] handgun, as well as a boxcutter inside a backpack.

 

Asked if he had heard how the incident unfolded, an unidentified handyman exiting M.S. 363 on Saturday, Jan. 21, said, “I wasn’t here that day.” He said he had heard a student was arrested. Asked if there were metal detectors in place at the school, the handyman said, “They brought a metal detector the day after; yesterday. Yeah, but they left. It (was) just for one day.” The man was of the opinion that it seemed strange the detectors were only in place for one day.

On the same day, in the Longwood section of The Bronx, at around 8.52 p.m., police said the NYPD responded to a 911 call regarding shots fired in the vicinity of 998 Longwood Avenue, located in the vicinity of the Police Athletic League (PAL).

 

Upon arrival, police said officers observed two people with gunshot wounds. “The first victim, a 15-year-old male, sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln in critical condition,” an NYPD spokesperson said.  “The second victim, a 16-year-old male, sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln in stable condition.”

 

Police said there were no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. The deceased was later identified as Josue Lopez-Ortega, 15, of Fenton Avenue from the Laconia section of The Bronx.

 

On Saturday, Sept. 21, in the context of the Longwood shooting incident, the NYPD asked for the public’s assistance in locating the vehicle seen in the attached photos. 

 

It continues, “We run evening teen centers; and college readiness programs, as well as youth employment, juvenile justice programs. Competitive and recreational sports for children of all ages is a cornerstone of our youth development strategy.  In its over a century of service, PAL is continuing its evolution and remains a vibrant and vital New York City institution.”

 

As reported, the league hosts sports and other events to engage with youth from across the City, including support of the Saturday Night Lights program, an initiative which works to keep City gyms open on Saturday nights to allow youth the opportunity to play sports, when gyms would otherwise be closed.

 

Norwood News contacted the Police Athletic League (PAL) for comment on the Longwood incident. A PAL spokesperson replied, saying, “At PAL, our hearts go out to the families of the young people involved in the tragic incident that occurred last evening in front of PAL’s New South Bronx Center.”

 

The statement continued, “The top priority of the Police Athletic League is the safety and well-being of our children. PAL Teen Centers, located in the South Bronx and throughout the City, provide safe spaces for young people to learn, grow and engage in productive activities with programs designed to keep youth off the streets and moving forward in the right direction. We would also like to express our gratitude to all of our community partners including the NYPD for their support of our programs.”

 

We also contacted New York City School Safety Coalition, a coalition of parents, families, religious leaders, and community leaders who support the continuation of school safety agents’ presence in schools, for comment on the Fordham Heights incident. Mona Davids, a representative for the group, replied, saying, “The NYC School Safety Coalition has been raising the alarm about the increase in youth violence and teen shootings. We have been saying no community is immune to the rampant gun violence plaguing our city from The Bronx to Staten Island. Every neighborhood is impacted.  We are tired of asking “Whose child is next?”

 

Davids continued, “We know Mayor Adams understands the crisis we are in. But we need him to take more action. To keep our children safe in our communities, in school, traveling to and from school, Mayor Adams must hire more police officers to walk these streets and more School Safety Agents in our schools. Our children’s safety must come first.”

 

 

The group has spoken out previously on incidents of school violence in the context of their longtime opposition to the removal of school safety agents from public schools. Meanwhile, Sistas & Brothas United, the youth arm of Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, has long opposed the presence of school safety agents in public schools, and frequently march to rid public schools of such agents.

 

NYC Department of Education (DOE) weighed in on the topic of school safety agents in September 2021, while former Bronx NYPD Chief Nilda Hoffman shared her experience on the issue during an interview following her retirement from the NYPD in 2020. Norwood News reached out to NYC Department of Education (DOE) for comment in relation to the latest school security incident in Fordham Heights.

 

A spokesperson responded, saying, “Weapons of any kind are not tolerated in our schools. Our school staff and school safety agents immediately and safely recovered this item after an attentive and brave student raised concerns to a trusted staff member. All safety procedures were followed. All students and staff are safe, and we are working closely with NYPD regarding follow-up actions.” 

 

We asked if DOE could confirm if the teen arrested had been suspended or expelled from the school. We did not receive a response.  Norwood News also reached out to M.S. 363 directly for comment on Friday, Jan. 20. An unidentified employee said, “I can’t. You would have to call the 46th Precinct.” Asked if the principal was available for comment, the employee said, “No, he left for the day.” Nobody else was available for comment either.

 

More recently, New York City School Safety Coalition held a town hall on Oct. 26, 2022 to discuss the issue of school safety. The group is planning another event in February.

 

 

NYC School Safety Coalition Town Hall Meeting Video courtesy of NYC School Safety Coalition via YouTube

Meanwhile, reacting to both incidents, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said in a statement released on Jan. 20, “Yesterday’s shooting outside the Police Athletic League in Longwood that left one teen injured, and another mortally wounded, in addition to a school safety agent’s discovery of weapons in a 13-year-old’s backpack in Fordham Heights, makes it abundantly clear that the gun epidemic in New York City is far from over.”

 

She continued, “Our children deserve to learn and recreate in safe environments. We are grateful to the brave student who voiced their concern and helped school safety agents recover the weapons, but our children should not have to be superheroes at school or fear being gunned down on the street.”

 

She concluded, “Guns have no place in our streets, and they certainly have no place in our educational facilities and recreational spaces. These incidents and so many others highlight the urgent need for us to stop the proliferation of guns in our neighborhoods. I also want to thank the incredible team at the Police Athletic League for their commitment and dedication to our youth. Community centers are safe spaces, and we will not accept any attempts to jeopardize or undermine their work.”

 

Last June, Norwood News reported how a Bronx mom was outraged when it was discovered that a 17-year-old was arrested for gun possession inside an East Harlem School which her children attended. The same month, which marked Gun Violence Awareness Month, we asked Bronxites their thoughts on security in Bronx schools in the wake of a spate of mass shootings across the country and other school-related security incidents in the borough, including in Norwood.

 

Two months earlier, in April, as reported, a school safety agent was stabbed as he intervened in a domestic violence dispute at P.S. 69 in Soundview.

A man walking past M.S. 363 on Saturday, Jan. 21, was asked if he had heard about Thursday’s incident at the school. He replied, “No I hadn’t heard that. It’s very crazy; that’s why people need to pray. People need to go to church and pray.”

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

Anyone with information regarding either incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.