Gun student took to Dunbar was loaded, principal says in apologetic email to parents

The gun that a student took to Lexington's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School on Wednesday was loaded, not unloaded as the principal initially reported, according to an email she sent to families.

Principal Betsy Rains said in an email to families Friday that "in our follow-up and debriefing of the incident on Wednesday in which we had a student bring a gun to school, we have discovered that in our effort to get information to you quickly, we made a mistake."

"Our communication stated that the gun was unloaded and the student had also brought a clip with ammunition. However, we have now learned that the clip was in the gun when the weapon was found, so in fact, the weapon was loaded," Rains email said. "Our intent is to always be truthful with you and share all the information we are legally allowed to share. I am terribly sorry that we did not have accurate information on Wednesday," Rains said. "Please know that my commitment to you is to always be honest and there was no intent to mislead you. That’s why I wanted to follow up and ensure that you had the corrected information," Rains said.

Rains confirmed Saturday that she sent the email to families Friday, but said she had no other information.

On Wednesday she told the Herald-Leader that the student will face serious administrative consequences through the school district, and may also face legal consequences through the juvenile court system.

The student, who was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, was taken into custody.

Rains said Wednesday that one student saw the gun in the backpack between 2:30 p.m. or 2:45 p.m. and told a teacher. The teacher, who immediately had possession of the backpack, called administrators.

This story was originally published February 14, 2015 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Gun student took to Dunbar was loaded, principal says in apologetic email to parents."