Loaded gun at Milwaukee school, family frustrated with district

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee Public Schools family said they are frustrated with the district after police arrested a 13-year-old who brought a loaded gun to school on Thursday, April 3.

Gun at MPS school

The backstory:

According to the Milwaukee Police Department, officers arrested a 13-year-old girl who brought a loaded gun to Milwaukee School of Languages. Criminal charges were referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

MPS said the weapon was found after another student informed staff. Milwaukee police were called immediately and the student who brought the weapon was arrested. No one was physically harmed.

Student, parent frustrated

What they're saying:

Families said they're angry with how they were notified about the weapon. MPS told FOX6 News they reached out to parents on Thursday when the gun was found, but parents and students said they feel more should have been done.

"I don’t trust the district. I don’t trust the school," said parent Brian Eisold. "I want to know what’s going on."

Darronte Matthews talks to Brian Eisold and his son, Rowan

It's how the Eisolds found out, and the district's response, that is not sitting well with them.

"I think I heard amongst some of my friends at school," student Rowan Eisold said.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Brian Eisold said his son called him and told him. Then, he saw the email from the district. It said staff acted swiftly after responding to a report of an "inappropriate item" found inside the school.

"An ‘inappropriate item,’ so anything from a Whoopee Cushion to apparently a loaded weapon," said Brian Eisold.

"They didn’t make any announcements, code reds, code yellows, anything," Rowan Eisold said.

MPS responds

The other side:

The next day, MPS sent families a more detailed email that highlighted the loaded weapon, which said no one was hurt and staff is working with the police. Some students also staged a walk-out on Friday. 

"I just want a change, any change, like implementing more safety procedures and protocols," said Rowan Eisold.

Milwaukee School of Languages

"You would think that immediately upon finding a loaded weapon the response would be lock everything, call the police, notify the parents," Brian Eisold said. "With the amount of violence and craziness in our schools, they need to do better."

An MPS spokesperson told FOX6 News on Friday that the first thing the district does when something like this happens is send a message to parents with the promise and intent to update it when they get confirmation of what is going on and what was found.