Gun found again at South Philly High, but brave school cop 'prevented a tragedy'
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Gun found again at South Philly High, but brave school cop 'prevented a tragedy'
Kristen Graham
Days after a woman was stopped from entering South Philadelphia High when a gun was discovered in a diaper bag she was carrying, another loaded gun was recovered just outside the school, authorities said Wednesday.
“We probably prevented a tragedy, a homicide or a shooting,” said Chief Inspector Cynthia Dorsey, head of the Philadelphia School District’s police force.
The gun was found last Friday when a school police officer observed a young man outside the school at Broad and Snyder at about 3 p.m., near school dismissal time.
School Police Sgt. Tyisha Wright-Godwin approached the man — who authorities believe was not a South Philadelphia student — and he told her he was waiting for a friend. Something felt wrong to Wright-Godwin, and she directed one of the school’s cameras kept on the young man.
Then, “it got really scary,” Principal Otis Hackney said.
Almost immediately, a bulletin came across the officers’ radios: the young man had threatened a South Philadelphia student. Then, the officer monitoring the cameras radioed that he saw the young man pass what appeared to be a gun to a female student, who put it in her bag.
School police officers are not armed, but Sgt. Wright-Godwin was single-minded, Dorsey said. She moved in.
“She knew she had to get that gun,” said Dorsey.
A struggle ensued — Wright-Godwin trying to grab the bag, the unknown young man trying to grab it back.
Ultimately, the young man fled and two other school officers joined Wright-Godwin, taking the young woman into custody.
Everything was over in minutes.
“Other students didn’t gather around. They had no idea what was going on. The officers just swooped right in, and took care of it,” Hackney said.
“It was a great job,” Dorsey said. “When the sergeant talked to me, she was still out of breath.”
Wright-Godwin is a South Philadelphia High graduate, and invested in the community. She took it personally that someone would bring a gun to “her” school, the principal said.
“She cares about South Philly, even the knuckleheads,” Hackney said. “She wants them all to do well, and she makes sure that everyone’s on point.”
The .38-caliber Smith and Wesson was loaded with five rounds of ammunition, and its serial number had been altered, Dorsey said.
The 16-year-old girl, whose name is not being released because of her age, had a prior record and was charged with possession of a firearm and resisting arrest, Dorsey said.
The young man is still at large, Dorsey said, but he had passed off his identification to the student, so authorities know who he is.
Capt. Laurence Nodiff, commander of the city police’s south detectives division, praised the school officers’ actions.
“They did a really nice job,” Nodiff said.
Hackney, Wright-Godwin and the rest of the school security team believe their first job is to develop strong, positive relationships with students, the principal said. But the school is a huge building in a tough urban neighborhood, and when the situation arises, officers “do what they need to do,” Hackney said.
On Jan. 10, officers stopped a 21-year-old woman attempting to enter the school to register for evening school from entering the building. Kelly Jones had a loaded gun in her pink and white diaper bag.
Jones was passing through the security system at the school’s entrance when officers discovered that gun.
“I can’t change the community we’re located in, but we can all do our best to keep kids safe,” Hackney said. “I have the best school police team in the city.”
Well lets see how the DA prosecutes this one and if all the laws on the books are used to keep this thug behind bars for a long time.— Taxpaying Voter- Great idea. But how can anybody ever know that justice was done when the newspaper will not print the names of those accused?
Keeping secret the names of those arrested does not help the unnamed person in police custody, and it sure as hell does not help the civil rights of the rest of us.
Reporter Kristen Graham writes that the name of the female accomplice is "not being released because of her age." Huh? What is Graham talking about? Is there some law that makes it illegal to print the name of somebody under arrest based upon their age?
No, there's no such law. The decision to keep you in the dark is one the newspapers make all by themselves. Te editors and reporters choose not to give you certain information. The result is that you are less informed than you could be, and they do it to you on a routine basis.
It's not arguable that these jokers withhold relevant information from their reporting. What info aren't you allowed to know? Why aren't you allowed to know it? How many stories do they withhold info on? And whose interest does it serve when they do it? Definitely not yours.— China Panda - The district and the city needs to honor this brave officer!— Stand for Something
- Umm...Well, she was just doing her job. But anybody who has seen a gun and still approaches maybe should be sent to training. I would think that there is something about calling for real police backup in the procedure, but if this went down anything like the story, it was a very brave act.
- I'm happy to finally read something being done WELL in Philly schools!— houndstooth
- A brave officer takes charge. Why, oh why, aren't the officers carrying weapons? Another thug, scumbag piece of trash shows up with a firearm. The idiot girl should be locked up for years.— farside37
- possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. They will throw the book at her. Which means....in school suspension.— mkmholla
- That was a brave officer. She's unarmed but goes after an armed thug. Bravo!— nikki1231
- Good for her!— Tatt2
Comment removed.- -The Pirate I certainly see your point but, at the same time, it doesn't take much to get a weapon out of a bag and discharge it. Another officer might have played it safe and waited for Philly Police to come.— Darren Lipscomb
- Gun found at school again, but brave school cop prevents tradegy.....lol isn't that there job. can't wait to go to work tomorrow and have people say man... keith came to work today and did the job he is being paid to do lets give him an award....lol— keith6
- @keith6....Ummmmm, unlike you who "just" does his job, she had the foresight to recognize a problem early. So while you "just" do your job, others are performing at an exceptional level. Obviously, something you know little to nothing about.
— TopCat#1 - Kudos to Sgt Wright-Godwin, for having the insight to recognize a potential problem early. Her keep perception avoided a catastrophe. You Go Girl!— TopCat#1
- "But the school is a huge building in a tough urban neighborhood." Yes, the school is huge. But the neighborhood is fine, mainly because the neighborhood kids go to Neumann-Goretti or elsewhere. The writer should not disparage an area she obviously knows little about.— CommonSenze
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
