Wisconsin school principal charged with crime after allegedly covering up school gun incident

MILWAUKEE (CITC) — A Wisconsin school principal is facing charges for allegedly failing to inform authorities that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school.

Dennis Daniels was principal of Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee at the time of the incident in February, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper states that the 11-year-old student asked a classmate on the school steps if he was afraid of guns before pulling out a gun and pointing it at the second student's head.

The 11-year-old student allegedly pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. The second student fled and later told a teacher about the gun and where it was hidden, the complaint states.

The teacher allegedly retrieved the gun without notifying authorities and brought it to Daniels. The complaint states that Daniels did not immediately contact authorities or report the 11-year-old student, but did not bring the gun to police until the next day.

Daniels reportedly told police he found the weapon in bushes on campus during a “perimeter check.” Wisconsin law requires school administrators to immediately notify law enforcement of any incident “that contributes to a belief that there is a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety” of the school community.

The criminal complaint states that the true circumstances of the incident came to light eight days later. A review of Wisconsin court records by Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) revealed that Daniels was ultimately charged with abuse of office and obstruction of an officer.

His next court date is scheduled for September 5.

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Daniel's attorney declined to comment when contacted by CITC. When asked, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) told CITC that both authorities and families were notified as soon as the district became aware of the matter.

MPS did not confirm whether Daniels is still employed, but both his name and the position of principal are missing from a list of principals on the Thurston Wood Schools website.

The 11-year-old student was reportedly expelled from school following the incident in February. He admitted to authorities at the time that he pointed the gun at another student but claimed he was joking, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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