Gateway student brings BB gun on premises of Travis

Campus police received a call around 12:30 p.m. May 13 about a Gateway to College student who brought a BB gun to the parking lot of Travis Early College High School.

The police report stated the student brought a Red Ryder BB gun with nine BBs found inside.

Sgt. Ben Pena said in a Thursday interview the student was not arrested for bringing a BB gun because a BB gun is not a deadly weapon and not illegal in Texas.

Pena said the student's name could not be released because the case has not yet been classified. It could be considered a crime or just an incident.

"We are doing everything we can to see if a crime had occurred," Pena said.

The police report said the student was sitting at a nearby bus stop holding the BB gun.

However, radio-television-film sophomore James Velten said in a Wednesday interview he saw the student horse playing with the BB gun with two other males, but when campus police arrived, the student threw the gun on the ground and took the blame for everything.

Radio-television-film sophomore Robert Medina said that when he looked out a window of Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building, he saw three individuals playing with a BB gun. He said the group began to jump around when multiple shots were fired.

Medina told The Ranger that the student who talked to campus police shot at a brick wall and then reacted as if the BB richoted back at him. Before campus police arrived, one of the three appeared to be aiming the BB gun as if to shoot at something in the parking lot.

Pena said in a Wednesday interview that the student was the only one identified with a BB gun.

Nancy Cobb, Gateway to College director and dean of P-16 initiatives for this college and the district, said the student was in the parking lot, but there was no initial threat.

Cobb said this is the first time she has heard of a Gateway student bringing a BB gun on any of the campuses.

Cobb said the student who brought the BB gun is going to face disciplinary review and potentially disciplinary action.

"All our students know the student conduct from this college," Cobb said.

In the meantime, the student's scholarship has been taken away, and he will not be able to attend classes at Gateway, she said.

"Our students are college students," Cobb said. "There are no second chances. They are going to be treated like any other college student."

Gateway to College offers students who have dropped out of high school or who cannot graduate earn high school credits while earning college credit. The program at this college enrolls more than 600 students.