Seneca student says he was falsely accused of bringing gun to school, was still punished

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Seneca High School sent a letter to families on Wednesday saying they got a tip that a student might have a gun with at school.

The school called police and after a search, they determined there was no gun.

Darion Duncan said he was that student and even though they didn’t find a weapon, he was still suspended.

“He said someone said I had a gun, but they was joking and I got handcuffed,” Duncan said in text messages to his family. “And now I’m getting sent home. I didn’t even do anything.”

Duncan said he was pulled out of class by the Assistant Principal and searched by police.

“I stepped in the hallway and they started searching me and stuff,” Duncan said. “And they had rifles. They handcuffed me and they took my coat and they walked me inside the office.”

In the letter sent to parents, Seneca’s Principal Michael Guy said “We want to thank the person who brought the tip to our attention.”

However, Duncan said the person who made the tip did it as a joke.

Despite finding no gun, he said he’s still suspended.

“I’m a little mad and frustrated,” Duncan said.

“And if it was a so-called joke. Why is he suspended? And if he didn’t have a gun, why is he suspended?” Duncan’s grandmother Remona Crenshaw asked.

Crenshaw picked him up after the incident, and she said she hasn’t gotten any information from the school.

“And he was crying talking about I’ve never had handcuffs on before, I’ve never had a gun in my face like that before, I didn’t know what was going on,” Crenshaw said.

Duncan’s family said they weren’t given any paperwork about his suspension.

When Duncan’s mom called the school, she said was told they’d have to wait to meet with the school.

“She, I think, called to try to let them know that we want to come and sit and talk, and she said no one’s going to be coming out here today because you’re going to get a letter,” Crenshaw said. “And when you get that letter, the we can set up an appointment.”

The family doesn’t know when they’ll get that letter.

Spring Break is next week, and they said Duncan will be suspended the following week, and then allowed to come back to school on April 17th.

That is unless Crenshaw gets her way.

“I personally, like I told his mother, I really don’t want him to come back there. But that’s her choice,” Crenshaw said.

We reached out to JCPS on Thursday about the incident, and they pointed WAVE to the letter sent home with students.

JCPS clarified Friday morning, saying “all students who are suspended receive a letter. Sometimes that letter is handed to them before they leave the school and sometimes it is mailed to them.”

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