ST. ALBANS, W.Va. –A teacher’s aide has been arrested and is facing charges after a juvenile brought a handgun to a St. Albans middle school earlier this week.
Heather Dawn Sherrod, 46, of St. Albans, has been charged with failing to report a firearm. She was arrested Friday afternoon.
The charges stem from an incident Wednesday afternoon when a student at Hayes Middle School was found with a handgun on a bus around 3:15. A teacher on board confiscated the weapon and turned it over to school employees.
Police say the juvenile’s guardian allegedly had no knowledge of the handgun and revealed it had been stolen from the Jefferson area the night before.
Officials say further investigation revealed that Sherrod was told by a student around 8:30 Wednesday morning that the gun had been pointed at another student. As a mandated reporter, Sherrod allegedly did not report the incident.
A criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court states that Sherrod admitted she did not report the incident, despite knowing she was required to do so.
She is currently being held on a $2,500 bond at South Central Regional Jail.