A convicted felon and former student at the New Horizons School in New Haven is facing charges after police said he showed up at the school with a gun in his pocket and asked to speak to the principal yesterday.
Police said 21-year-old Maurice Keys, of Glade Street in West Haven, approached a security guard and asked to speak with the school principal just after 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The security guard patted him down outside the entrance and felt a handgun in Keys’ pocket. When questioned, Keys told the security guard it was an electronic device, but turned and fled before making it through the metal detector, according to police.
The security guard contacted police, who found Keys outside a home on Greenwich Avenue. He struggled with the officers who confronted him but was finally arrested, police said.
Keys is a convicted felon and was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, criminal possession of a pistol, criminal trespassing and interfering with police.
Police said Keys frequently visited the school and made no threat. He left before passing through the school’s metal detector.
The school was mostly empty at the time of the incident because students had been dismissed around 11 a.m. on a testing schedule.
