Image courtesy of WCTV
VALDOSTA – A loaded gun was found underneath a chair following a Valdosta City School Board meeting Tuesday night, according to the Valdosta Police Department.
“I received a call from the superintendent telling us they had located the gun. It was laying on the floor, looking like someone had dropped it,” said VPD Chief Brian Childress. “It was a small .32 caliber gun. We believe someone just dropped it. We do not believe it was intentionally left there.”
Childress confirmed to Valdosta Today the gun was loaded.
The gun was found by maintenance staff after the meeting was over, said VCS Superintendent Dr. William Todd Cason.
Guns are not allowed on Valdosta City School campuses, including the Board of Education building on Williams Street where the meeting took place.
“It is not in the best interest of anyone other than a police officer to bring a gun into a school building and the central office,” Cason said. “We have signs posted, so we let people know that this is a gun free campus”
VPD investigators have entered the gun into evidence and are trying to locate its owner.
The firearm was discovered after a contentious meeting in which minority contractors and supporters confronted the board about the lack of construction bids awarded to minority contractors in the building of the new Valdosta High School.
Rev. Darren Neal spoke on behalf of the minority contractors and announced the contractors’ intention to file suit if their concerns were not addressed.
The firearm was discovered in the area where the contractors and their supporters were sitting, according to Cason.
“We don’t feel as if someone had ill intent. We have to assume someone brought it because they carry it all the time, and it happened to fall out of someone’s pocket,” said Cason. “The majority of the people where the gun was found, and those people who were sitting in those seats, it’s my speculation and my assumption that I would hope that they didn’t bring that in to cause harm to anyone within that meeting. Again, that’s just speculation. We assume, but we know, sometimes, what assuming does for you.”
While a VPD officer already provides security for board meetings, Cason said the system will increase security for meetings moving forward, including adding additional police officers, providing security for all events and installing security cameras.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure all board members, employees and those who attend board meetings are safe. So, we are trying to put measures in place to ensure everyone’s safety,” Cason said.
