2003 Media Releases:

CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
VINCENT P. SARUBBI, CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
MEDIA   INFORMATION

March 10, 2003

Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi and Acting Camden Police Chief Edwin Figueroa reported that a 15-year-old female student at Camden High School was arrested today and charged with Armed Robbery, weapons offenses, Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer and Attempted Escape.

The ninth-grade student allegedly used a loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun in an attempt to rob a fellow student at the school shortly before 10 a.m., then struggled with arresting officers while being taken into custody.

The juvenile was lodged in the Camden County Youth Detention Center in Blackwood pending a detention hearing tentatively set for Tuesday morning, March 11, 2003, before a Family Court Judge.

Sarubbi stated that his office would seek to have the juvenile detained until final disposition of all the charges.

"Schools and guns and children don't mix," Sarubbi said. "There is no place for this type of conduct in our educational institutions. The vast majority of children that attend Camden city schools are there seeking a quality education. To the extent that violent incidents occur, not only do the good kids suffer, but the reputation of the school system suffers as well.

"It is unthinkable that a child would bring a gun to school and use it against a fellow student in the manner alleged here. Such actions warrant a strong and immediate response from educators and the law enforcement community."

All persons charged with criminal offenses are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.