Gun Displayed in School Bathroom Image Appears to be Loaded S&W Revolver

Mobile Middle School Student Holding Gun In School Bathroom Under Investigation
Mobile Middle School Student Holding Gun In School Bathroom Under Investigation

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- – A middle school student from Mobile, Alabama, is shown holding a revolver in a school bathroom. The picture has gone viral. The photo was taken sometime before September 11, 2018. From mynbc15.com:

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — A photo of a Mobile middle school student allegedly depicting the student with a gun in a school restroom is under investigation by Mobile police.

The picture was posted on Facebook on Thursday October 11th 2018.

The photo was a allegedly taken inside a bathroom at Chastang-Fournier K-8 in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Mobile.

The image was well focused on the revolver. Whoever made the picture did a good job. School officials and police have identified the people in the image. The student who was holding the revolver is no longer a student in the Mobil Public Schools.

Mobile Middle School Student Revolver Close Up
Mobile Middle School Student Revolver Close, Up, Click to Enlarge

Because the picture is well focused, several interesting details are apparent. The revolver appears to be a high quality, if well used, Smith & Wesson model 36. We cannot be certain, as this common and well thought of revolver has been widely copied throughout the world. The odds are it is a genuine Smith & Wesson, however.

The revolver is loaded. Look at the chambers of the revolver cylinder on the left as you look at the picture. Peering into the chambers, you see the glimmer of bullets in the two chambers, indicating the revolver was loaded at the time of the picture.

The student who is holding the revolver is observing some necessary safety precautions. He is not pointing the revolver directly at the person with the camera, thus keeping with two of the basic safety rules.

  1. Do not point a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy.
  2. Know your target and what is beyond your target.

He is following a third safety rule as well. His trigger finger is outside of the trigger guard.

There are prominent signs outside the school informing people that the school is a “gun free zone.”

Chastang-Fournier K-8 in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Mobile
Chastang-Fournier K-8 in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Mobile

Such signs did not dissuade the young man in the picture from taking a revolver to the school. I doubt that imposition of costly metal detectors at some entrances will make much difference either.

Taxpayers will not be well served by purchasing metal detectors and paying for the necessary armed security to man the detectors whenever school is in session, and anytime anyone has access to the schools.

Such measures are only useful if they are enforced rigorously. If they are not, the children (much like prison inmates, in effect) are quick to learn the vulnerabilities of the system and to find ways to circumvent them.

For example, keeping a gun hidden inside the school, after bringing it in at an entrance that is briefly not monitored.

My friend Roy Eykamp informed me of a time he and a friend brought a revolver to a one-room school in South Dakota around 1930. The teacher discovered they had the revolver and asked what the purpose was. The boys said they intended to shoot gophers during lunch hour. A bounty was paid for gophers by the county. The teacher instructed them to follow the safety rules and allowed them to keep possession of the revolver. Roy was about 12 at the time.

Today, things have changed, and not always for the better. Parents are much more removed from the management of the schools. Legislation and regulation have taken away much parental and teacher responsibility.

Schools and parents would be better served by teaching and enforcing discipline and ethical norms.

Teaching students that the “system” or the “man” are stacked against them works in precisely the opposite manner, encouraging them to game the system or ignore the rules.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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Rock

Zackley… The leftist loons can’t seem to comprehend that the CRIMINALS do not and never will adhere to their laws…Anywhere at ANYTIME ! So in reality the laws that they write and push are doing nothing but restricting, step by step, the lawful weapons owned by lawful owners till they have reached their end goal of total restriction to ALL but the criminals….

Jack King

I live here out in the suburbs of Mobile. This is in the inner city. Down close to all the govt housing projects. Police are called here all day every day 24 hours a day. Not as bad as Prichard just north of there though. Typical for inner city projects I assume. At least everyone I have ever known. Common denominator I think is the real problem.

Country Boy

The young boy on left in red shirt appears to be “gang signing” IMO. And possibly the boy on the right too.

I suspect these boys are wannabe gangsters or…already are gangsters

Jack McKinley

Well at least he has his finger off the trigger.

Dave Christensen

If it was photoshopped, why is the kid with the gun no longer attending that school – lack of graphics ability?

Rock

Ahhh, the up and coming thugs, All 3 will be in jail OR dead by 17, but thy are FLY right now. Their parents probably don’t care, are at the bar, drugged out OR on the couch passed out OR watching CNN/NBC airing stories about MORE gun control for law abiding citizens… Say WHAT !
That picture SHOWS exactly where the criminal, illegal gun issue starts, and it is NOT the law abiding citizen who the laws are aimed at !

Bill

Unfortunately, it is ALWAYS the law abiding citizen that the laws are aimed at. None of them make any difference to non-law-abiders.

Country Boy

Agreed and BRAVO!

Rock

Zackley… The leftist loons can’t seem to comprehend that the CRIMINALS do not and never will adhere to their laws…Anywhere at ANYTIME ! So in reality the laws that they write and push are doing nothing but restricting, step by step, the lawful weapons owned by lawful owners till they have reached their end goal of total restriction to ALL but the criminals….

GregTorchia

Regardless of the photograph being Photoshopped or not metal detectors and arm guards at all of our elementary middle and high schools end of story next subject

Eddie

Put him in offfice some where

Don Bailey

Great example of how effective gun free zones are for schools, and kids who follow rules.

Rock

I guess the laws written already don’t apply to these three wannabe thugs. Soooo, the self proclaimed weaponry “smart ones” will have to write MORE laws so thee little assholes have even MORE useless laws to ignore…. CRIMINALS and /or WANNABE CRIMINALS obey zero laws of ANY type/scope or meaning, ever ! If these three could read they STILL wouldn’t believe the written law applies to THEM, cause their uncles, baby daddies, bro’s, hood thugs, and even aunts, sista’s and momma’s ALL carry illegal/stolen guns and they will too ! THEY learn from those around them, that is a FACT… Read more »

Matt in Oklahoma

Psshh muh baby wasn doin nuffins

Leo

This is so unfortunate cause it shows the situation our youth is in. The sad part is the coments on this. I see people talking about gun model (irelevant)i see post about gun discipline (ridiculous) negative conents about the kid like he stole it and him being a criminal. My favorite is the 1 that says 2 tween burts and an eatnie. Come on why the hell dont any 1 see that our kids and youth has no guidance or disipline. All they have is the stupid internet and the example ee set for them that we areva bunch of… Read more »

Bud

I hope someone in our future still cares about spelling and sentence structure.

GregTorchia

Artificial intelligence doesn’t care about anything except sucking the life out of your body and spitting out the bones -you Sabi ??Sherlock Holmes -Can you hear me now? Hold your nose and Vote Republican or die under communist rule/ your choice

Joe sundown

Amen teach them right if you can’t afford to feed them don’t breed them and if you don’t have time wear a rubber because you’re not taking my rights away because you can’t raise your f****** kids right worthless Democrat motherfukers you’re going to tell me about how it’s not fair it’s not fair going your whole life playing by the rules giving a f*** doing the right thing caring about others and some punk m************ have kids don’t give a f*** sitting on welfare blaming everything on Trump grow up get an education a job a home then think… Read more »

J Buck

Vote Republican or die under communist rule? Hard to fathom the sheer idiocy of that statement when Trump leads the Republican Party. A man who praises every autocratic dictatorial leader he comes across. A man guilty of treason and one who has no respect or concern with the rule of law or the principles of democracy. A man who sold out to Russia to gain any advantage he could. A man who wants himself and his ultra-rich buddies to be unaccountable and more wealthy at the cost of the rest of us, the environment and our children. In other words,… Read more »

GregTorchia

Communists have no ground / platform Except hate and violence and expect “”we the people “”to
pay forYour stupidity /I like my head just where it is -thank you1776 up your Commie hot dog bun -Have a nice day George Soros

Jim Macklin

You really should read some current news. President Trump is not a Russian puppet. In fact, Hillary Clinton dreamed up the whole Russian collusion idea when she hired the Russians to produce a piece of political fiction. After at least 25 million dollars spent on the special prosecutor no evidence of a Russian tie, except to Hillary. President Trump has not done the things he is accused of doing. As for roads, Republican Dwight David Eisenhower started the Interstate Highway System. There have been schools for 200 years. Mr. Buck, I presume you’re just ignorant and don’t want to learn… Read more »

GregTorchia

blah blah blah I’m sure you’re a chi-com/Bolshevik/ or anTifa basement dick smokerKeyboard commando- I can’t wait to see people like you in the streetObama Hillary Soros butt buddy-you’re either a communist or you’re not /real simple question moron

Wild Bill

Tovarich Buck ran out of luck,
making his propaganda pay.
Paid per response.
His comments askance,
The patriots wiped his perjury away.

Tionico

IS the possession of a firearm at a school a “malum in se” or a “malum prohibidum”? Wrong in itself, or wrong because somebody says it is? HUGE difference. My Dad used to talk about he and his schoolmates, both boys and girls, bringing their rifles to school on their horses, or later, when the school bought a bus, on the bus. (Dad was the school bus driver… at 14!!!! Yup. No big deal then) At recess and lunchtime, the kids would play with their guns outside… murdering tin cans and stumps and such. Made some of them mad, because… Read more »

TheLawMan405

Is it just me, or is something off about this picture?? Look at the kids hand. I see a pretty large hand (like that huge thumb) on that gun, and those knuckles look wierd too. With the trigger discipline, aim, and high grip noted above, I seriously question the credibility of this photo. This is only my opinion, but I am leaning towards “photo shop”. Just looks like that hand should be a little smaller, considering age. And why is his knuckle line so blurred, but the revolver is clear as day?? IDK about this one…? ‍♂️ And Ya!! What… Read more »

Bud

I think the focus point causes the “big hand” effect. Anything close to the lens appears larger. After teaching at the secondary level for 20 years you notice that hands and feet that are actually a bit larger is a common thing at this stage of development. Things begin to level out during the next years of physical development. Coaches love kids with big hands when it comes to ball handling on the court or when it comes to a good receiver on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t staged for the purpose of bragging rights among… Read more »

Bud

Another consideration is the possibility of a gang motive. If you look at the kid on the left his hands are both divided at the middle finger. This was, and may still be a common gang sign. You may scoff at this but as a teacher we were trained to recognize such things. We did have operative gangs on our campus.

Mofo Milton

A duel is in order.

Jae myers

Two twin burts and an ernie…know what street they are from.

Michael J. Frankowski

What was the point or purpose of this article? Why the discussion on whether the gun is a Smith and Wesson? Who cares? What does it matter? (Incidentally, it definitely is not a Model 36.) And what was the purpose of the story about the boy who brought a gun to a rural school in South Dakota almost a hundred years ago to shoot gophers? What is the point of that story? Also, the teacher must have been insane to allow a kid to keep the gun. Are we supposed to tell kids in the Bronx to bring guns to… Read more »

Ken

Thanks for the comment. I thought through the entire article, that this was sarcasm, and some point would be made. The best I could find was that the author was against metal detectors, security and not allowing middle school children to bring guns into a school.

Truly bizarre.

Tionico

Read it again.Dean is NOT “against metal detectors”, he is astute enough to know that, given the way gummit operate, they will simply not be effective. HOW MANY handguns get through TSA”s rigourous screening system and into the cabins of our aircraft each year? His was a simple cost/benefit analisis, and he is spot on. Metal detectors and screening DO WORK at courthouses…. because they are scrupulously utilised as part of a larger system. In the schools, they would simply be one more foolish tool to be “gamed” by the creative and daring amongst them. And anyone seriously wanting to… Read more »

Use your head

White folk can be so simple and easily manipulated by their peers. Ya’ll are so focused on the ideal of this kid having a loaded gun at school.so much so that ya’ll cant see that this boys hands have photo shopped. You can clearly see that the young man had the middle finger up and that someone used photos shop to manipulate the photo. Stop letting these nuts control your minds…

TheLawMan405

Agreed!!! From a “white folk”

Lep

Wow you sir are delutional and refuse to see the reality of things thats why kids like that 1 kill other kids because of people that velive kids are uncapable of doung things like adults. There in its self is the prblem we dont belive whar we see because we want to blind our self .

J Buck

A simple but relevant suggestion: SPELLCHECK

Use your eyes

Yeah, it isn’t even a GOOD photoshop either.
P.S. I’m white too.

Concerned Educator

How many grammar mistakes can someone possibility make in one comment!

J Buck

Far too many.

Ed

White folk can be so simple and easily.manipulated ? Racist much there chief ? And this picture hasn’t been photo shopped . Clearly you don’t know what your talking about . The boy doesn’t have his ” middle finger ” up . Look close bud . His index or trigger finger thankfully is outside the trigger , his middle and the other two fingers are clearly in the grip . Being a J frame revolver, it has a small grip basically squeezing your middle and ring and pinky fingers into a kind of tight uncomfortable position with your Middle finger… Read more »

Chris

The entire hand has been photoshopped in along with the gun, and not even very well.

You can see the cut/paste line around his knuckle, and the hand itself is too big, and the way it attaches to his wrist is seriously broken and unnatural looking. It’s either photoshop or a severe bone disease

Justin Bellio

Are you serious? “The picture has been photoshopped ” no shat sherlock the news did that because you cant show an accused minors face and as far as the middle finger that should be obvious but just in case i tell you that the news can not broadcast profanity on the air either ….. dumbass

Hermie

It’s absolutely photo shopped! 100%

Big Lou

Absolutely photoshopped. Anyone with two eyes can see this. I wonder will there be a follow-up to this when it all comes out.

Pete

He must have had some kind of training, because he doesn’t have his finger on the trigger and has a high grip!

Sal

That’s was my initial thought also.

Amry

Great trigger discipline for a junior high kid

John

If he could be found, he should be asked how he got it into school. Then adjust school inspection accordingly. Ease off punishment if he cooperates.

Jeremy D

Jr. High kids are old enough to know you can’t bring a gun to school. And of course he found it, we know he didn’t buy it.

Jim Macklin

Can’t is so wrong. Should not bring guns to school or even a 1/2″ blade pen knife to sharpen pencils.
Can’t drive 120 mph on city streets, but it does happen.
Some schools have windows that open and “Kid #1” can be inside and open the window. “Kid#2” can bring the gun outside.
Gun laws make some people “feel safe” and gun laws make smart people feel less safe.

chris hale

He stole it. Throw the lil bastard in prison.