![Fresno PD Refuses to Enforce Gun Laws](https://fresnoalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/15252454724_c7634ece78_z-620x358.jpg)
By Lindsey Spec
In May 2014, the Fresno Bee covered a story of a 13-year-old student found with a .357 magnum and bullets at Baird Middle School. The gun was owned by the father, a Fresno County Sheriffās Department employee. The son was expelled and charged with felonies.
The fatherās gun and bullets were kept in his SUV; he had no concealed weapons permit. This is a violation of several California gun laws regarding the legal possession, storage and transport of weapons. It was not in a locked box or a vehicle trunk.
The gun and bulletsā whereabouts were known to this ex-servicemanās two minor children and fully accessible to anyone accessing the vehicle. After the horrors of Sandy Hook and Columbine, laws have been enacted that are specifically intended to safeguard schoolchildren by punishing gun owners whose irresponsibility allows guns to find their way to our schools.
In California, PC 25200 was enacted. The actions of the father (Chad Horneck) met every element of such violations. He stored a gun in a manner in which it was reasonable to assume a minor could (and did) gain access, and the gun and bullets did end up on the campus, among the Baird Elementary population.
The son (previously an honor roll athlete with good teacher rapport and no disciplinary history) faces substantial limitations to what seemed an exceptionally bright future. The Fresno Police Department (FPD) and the District Attorney (DA) issued the father no citations and refused to apply the applicable āprevent guns on campusā laws to him.
I imagine the Baird parents, any Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) parents, expect the local authorities are vigorously protecting the safety of our schools. I would think they would be appalled and concerned about the authoritiesā failure to act to punish and prevent adults who put our kids at risk through their irresponsibility.
The father is also willfully disrespectful of multiple current court orders re custody. Although contempt charges were filed more than seven months ago, the trial did not occur until Aug. 31. The mother is unwilling to go to the press or public for fear she would incur the courtās displeasure. Her focus is her own childrenās well-being.
Yet the presence of that weapon on the Baird campus, and the response by the FPD and the DA, could disastrously affect the welfare of all FUSD students. Doesnāt the public have a right to know the facts? The facts of this case are discoverable, and documents are now, or can be, available to you. As we face a new school year, we should be concerned with protecting all Fresno schoolchildren.
I donāt want to hurt this motherās case, but shouldnāt there be a public discussion? Shouldnāt someone other than this mother be expected to follow up and report what has occurred?
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Lindsey Spec belongs to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Everytown for Gun Safety and believes in this movement to curb senseless and preventable violence. Contact her at spexmex@yahoo.ca.