(Black?) teens say getting guns is easy: "Protecting yourself against violence is something the teens we spoke with say is a must. On Monday their classmate at Menchville High School, brought a loaded 45 caliber handgun to school. The 15-year-old told police there had been a fight in his neighborhood just days before, he felt threatened and he wanted to protect himself. "Students feel threatened in this school all the time. They do wild things so they think they've got to be protected or whatever," said Chris Freeman, a Menchville High Junior. The students we spoke with say: all students know the penalties for bringing weapons to school, but it often comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils. "It's either he could get hurt or you could get expelled. I probably would have done the same thing if I was so worried that somebody was about to get me, said Menchville freshman Matthew Stallings. "I can understand somebody being scared cause like if somebody gets their faces cracked you never know it could happen to you!" added Chris Keefer a Menchville Sophomore. Police say Newport News has no more teen on teen violence than any other city and that there are no real territorial rivalries between high school students."


The Taser light begins to dawn: "One year after forgoing the purchase of 83 Taser guns because of mounting safety concerns, Fort Wayne police said Tuesday they will reinstate deployment of the weapons in a pilot program. The announcement came two days after an armed man was shot and injured by police officers. Fort Wayne police have also been involved in two standoffs in which officers killed barricaded people last year. Tasers temporarily immobilize people with a 50,000-volt shock. Police Chief Rusty York said the decision had nothing to do with those cases but with his confidence in the Tasers� safety after the Police Executive Research Forum � a national organization of police executives � compiled guidelines for their usage last fall. The department will purchase six Tasers and began training 28 officers with the Emergency Services Team, the department�s SWAT team, in March, York said. The team will use Tasers for hostage situations, barricaded subjects as well as narcotics raids and warrant executions for high-risk suspects. Police will set its own guidelines for the use of Tasers by modifying the one created by the Police Executive Research Forum, he said".