Canfield teenagers nabbed in gun sale

By Elise Franco

The two are charged after one sold a semi-automatic rifle to the other.

CANFIELD — Police don’t believe a 16-year-old intended to use the assault rifle he purchased from a friend.

Canfield Police Chief Chuck Colucci said charges were filed in juvenile court against two 16-year-old Canfield High School students after police determined one sold an SKS semi-automatic rifle to the other.

The minor who purchased the gun was charged with delinquency by way of underage purchase of a firearm, and the other was charged with delinquency by way of selling a firearm to a minor, according to police reports filed Tuesday.

Colucci said both boys turned themselves in to police, were booked and released.

Colucci said investigators from Canfield police and the Mahoning County sheriff’s office found no evidence that the boys brought the guns to school or intended to use them.

“After looking into it and talking to these kids, it doesn’t seem like they had any intentions to use them,” he said. “It was almost like a status symbol to them. It wasn’t a paint ball or Air Soft gun. It was a real gun.”

Colucci said police began investigating on Feb. 11 after the buyer’s mother found the rifle and a handgun in her son’s room. He said she called a teacher at the high school, who informed student resource officer Paul Lasky.

“She was very concerned with the fact that he had the weapons,” Colucci said.

The boy’s mother told police she was upset because it was the second time her son had brought guns into their township home on Mellinger Road, according to a police report. She reportedly confiscated the handgun from her son, who later took it back and hid it at a friend’s home.

The boy who bought the guns told police he purchased the rifle from his classmate for about $400 and the handgun from a flea market for $100. He said he used the handgun for target practice and hunting, according to a police report.

The boy who bought the guns turned the rifle over to a sheriff’s deputy during a search of his home.

The handgun was located by a deputy at another friend’s home on Columbiana-Canfield Road, the report said.

The boy who sold the rifle told police the transaction took place at his city residence on Cardinal Drive in December, and the gun came from a collection that belonged to his family, Colucci said.

“I would say they were cognizant of their actions and realized right away they made bad decisions,” the chief said.

“Neither of them are responsible enough to have any type of firearm.”

efranco@vindy.com