HAMDEN, Conn — 18-year-old Khalil Davis-Yancey of Hamden appeared in a Meriden court on Wednesday after being charged with assault and allegedly taking a loaded gun to school.
"The risk to the public is great," said Hon. Thomas O'Keefe, a Connecticut Superior Court Judge.
Hamden Police said they originally got called to Hamden Collaborative Learning Center, at 670 Wintergreen Ave, around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday for a fight. Court documents reveal a 16-year-old boy was visiting the school for a "shadow day" as a new student. The papers said Davis-Yancey recognized the boy, ran up to him, and punched him with both fists. Davis-Yancey later told police he and the 16-year-old had a history...and he would always "bad mouth him and mouth off to him."
Davis-Yancey was sent home and charged with disorderly conduct and assault in the 3rd degree.
Three hours later, police got a second call from security, related to the first incident. The documents said Davis-Yancey messaged another student on Instagram, allegedly asking her to retrieve a gun he his in a box in a classroom closet. The girl told him it would be traumatizing to do that...and told the school security guard. Police eventually found the gun, loaded, with five rounds in a 12-round capacity magazine.
"An 18-year-old having a gun without the proper permit is bad enough. What's worse about this, there's a strong case that he took a loaded gun to a school. That's a recipe for disaster," O'Keefe said in court.
Khalil Davis-Yancey was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, negligent storage of a firearm, reckless endangerment in the 1st degree, possession of a weapon on school grounds, and illegal possession of a weapon with a large capacity magazine.
The judge set the bond at $5,000 for the assault charges and $175,000 for the gun-related charges. If Davis-Yancey is able to post bail, the judge said he must have no contact with the victim in this case, he should not return to the school, and there he will be tracked by a GPS-monitoring system.
Hamden Collaborative Learning Center is an alternative education program for students, in grades 10-12.
Police said in a release:
"The safety and security of our students and staff is our highest priority. We will continue to partner with the Hamden Superintendent of Schools to ensure our school community is cared for and safe. The Hamden Police Department will increase our presence at the Hamden Collaborative Learning Center School and have our School Resource Officers visit the school daily to meet with students and staff."
In a statement to parents, the district superintendent also said they're taking measures to deal with this situation including the following:
- Supervisor of Security Lamond Battle will provide support to the degree possible thought the school day to assist Security Officer Beck.
- The Wintergreen Building will become part of SROs Kaplan and Brewer’s assignments until further notice.
- Social Work support will be sent from Hamden High School for students and/or staff.
- Therapists and/or Counselors from Clifford Beers will be available for students and staff.
- HCLC staff will convene both small group and whole group conversations with students in order to provide a forum for them to discuss their concerns and to let staff know what their needs are at this time.
- Appropriate school and district personnel will take part in an emergency meeting with the CT-VIP (Connecticut Violence Intervention Program) tomorrow in order to assess the degree to which there may be any residual community-based concerns that arise.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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