By Alexander Dworkowitz
A 16-year-old student at John Bowne High School in Queensboro Hill was arrested Monday after he allegedly pulled a loaded gun on his fellow students, police said.
Avinish Kumar, of 90-01 190th St. in Hollis, was taken into police custody without incident at 1:30 p.m. Monday, police said.
Kumar allegedly pointed a loaded firearm at two students in a school hallway, police said. No one was injured.
The student has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, said Meris Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney.
Kumar faces up to 15 years in prison if tried and convicted as an adult, Campbell said. A hearing to determine if he will be tried as an adult is pending.
After some students fled when he allegedly pointed the gun at other students, Kumar raced into a nearby classroom and stashed the gun in a closet, Newsday reported.
Administrators at Bowne HS could not be reached for comment.
Police said a .380-caliber revolver was recovered from the school, which has no metal detectors.
Margie Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the Board of Education, said that Kumar was being suspended from school at the corner of Main Street and Reeves Avenue.
Feinberg said Kumar left the school peacefully and the Bowne took the necessary steps to report the incident.
“He was accompanied by a school aide, and parents were contacted,” she said.
Dave Kulick, who heads the Flushing on the Hills Civic Association, said his group believes the school has had a history of such problems.
Kulick, whose association borders the high school to the north, said he and other residents have been concerned with safety in and around the school. During the previous school year, residents met with school administrators and former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman to discuss the behavior problems at the school.
Kulick said that in the year since the meetings, the situation at Bowne seems to have improved.
“It’s been quiet this year,” he said. “Last year it was not so quiet. They did a reasonable job of calming the kids down.”
In January 2001, the TimesLedger reported a series of physical attacks allegedly perpetrated by Bowne students as well as the complaints of neighbors who alleged that students urinated and engaged in lewd sexual conduct in local driveways.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
