JACKSON STUDENT CHARGED WITH FLOURISHING WEAPON

JACKSON - The sixth-grade student at West Lane Elementary School who was suspended for the rest of the school year for bringing a gun to school earlier this week has been charged with flourishing a weapon, authorities said Thursday.

A spokesman for the Jackson Police Department said Thursday the charge against the 11-year-old girl, who lives outside Jackson, was filed after investigators obtained statements from witnesses.

Police said the report on the incident and the statements of witnesses have been turned over to Cape Girardeau County juvenile authorities who are handling the case. Missouri law restricts the release of additional information by police and school officials because the person involved is a juvenile.

The gun, which school officials said was a "Saturday Night Special," semi-automatic, .25 caliber handgun, was taken from the girl around 2 p.m., Monday, during recess. Also confiscated was a clip containing several rounds of ammunition for the gun.

School officials said the gun was owned by the girl's mother. Participating in the investigation was the school district, Jackson police, the Community Counseling Center, and juvenile authorities.