UPDATE: Letty M. Lopez’s next hearing is set for June 22, 2023.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Police charged a Norfolk mother after they say her 6-year-old child brought a handgun to Little Creek Elementary School Thursday.
Police responded to the school around 3:30 p.m. Thursday regarding a report of a student having a weapon on school grounds.
When officers arrived, school administrators turned the handgun over to them. There were no injuries reported following the incident. After further investigation, police charged 35-year-old Letty M. Lopez with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing access to a loaded firearm by children. She was released on a summons.
Skye Barnes told 10 On Your Side that her daughter is a classmate of the boy who brought the gun, and that the boy threatened to shoot her. Barnes said she learned her daughter was targeted by the boy from another mother late last night. She said she couldn’t get in touch with anyone from the school for more information until after school began the following day.
“For him to be able to get the gun and bring it to school, it could have been a lot worse,” Barnes said. “The thoughts that are in my head, had not anybody come forward, the little boy who told the teacher…It could have been a lot worse.”
She said when she got the initial automated message from the school principal around 5:30 p.m., but she didn’t know it occurred in her child’s classroom.
“This afternoon a student was found in possession of a weapon in the school. The teacher acted immediately to alert me, at which I enacted emergency protocols including calling Norfolk police. Parents and guardians, please talk to your children about the items that they bring to school,”
Little Creek Elementary Principal Cherl Coghlan said in her message to parents.
Several parents told us they did not observe any additional security measures at the school this morning despite the investigation into the incident.
Thursday’s incident in Norfolk has some parallels to last month’s shooting at an elementary school in Newport News. In that case, police say a 6-year-old at Richneck Elementary School shot his teacher the afternoon of Jan. 6. The teacher, 25-year-old Abby Zwerner, was seriously injured, but survived. Again, in the incident at Little Creek Elementary, there were no injuries.
More than a month after the shooting at Richneck, there have been no charges filed. Newport News Police confirmed to WAVY this week that they have not yet turned the case over to the Commonwealth’s Attorney, who will determine whether or not to file any charges.