After a loaded ghost gun turns up at a Back Bay high school, a council hearing on student weapons has waited since March
Police said a 14-year-old had a loaded, privately made pistol at Snowden International on Wednesday. Murphy's order on juvenile weapons and school safety has 13 sponsors and no hearing date.
A 14-year-old student was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 28, after police found a loaded gun at Snowden International High School on Newbury Street, WBZ NewsRadio reported, citing Boston police. An officer assigned to the school was alerted that a student had a firearm. Officers found a loaded, privately manufactured "ghost gun" with 10 rounds in the student's waistband, according to police. The student faces firearm and ammunition charges in Boston Juvenile Court. Boston.com also reported the arrest. Juvenile cases are not public, and the charges are allegations.
No one was reported hurt. For families across the district, it raises a familiar question: how the schools, police and City Hall coordinate when weapons show up at school, and what they tell parents.
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What our records add
A hearing order waiting 240 days. City Councilor Erin Murphy filed an order for a hearing on recent juvenile weapon incidents and school safety coordination on March 4 (docket 0478). Every other councilor signed on, 13 sponsors in all. It went to the Education Committee, chaired by City Councilor Julia Mejia, and council records show no hearing.
When she filed it, Murphy described a run of incidents: a 15-year-old arrested in Dorchester with a loaded gun with a defaced serial number, a stabbing at one high school and a gun recovered at another (watch at 1:24:46). She said the hearing was "not about assigning blame" but about coordination between the city, BPS and police. She listed what she wanted to examine: trends in juvenile gun possession, the role of the police Youth Violence Strike Force, threat assessment, dismissal and perimeter safety, and support for students. She also said councilors too often learn about school incidents from social media instead of officials (1:26:10). The same day, her letter asking for an immediate briefing on school safety incidents was placed on file (docket 0469).
Ghost guns in the police data. City Councilor Ed Flynn told the council in June that, according to the city's 2025 firearm trafficking report, Boston police recovered 819 illegal guns in 2025, made 470 firearm arrests, 73 of them of juveniles, and recovered 54 crime guns that were privately made ghost guns (5:10:50). His order for a hearing on that report has been in the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee since June 3 (docket 1106). City Councilor Miniard Culpepper's order on gun trafficking and gun violence hotspots in the B-2 and B-3 police districts, with 12 sponsors, has been in the same committee since May 13 (docket 0999).
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Other safety items heard. The Education Committee did hold a hearing Oct. 20 on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in BPS (docket 0407; our story).
What's next
Mejia's committee is busy this month. It has a Nov. 2 hearing on school bus performance (our story) and a Nov. 9 hearing on how BPS staff cuts affect students with disabilities (docket 1333). Committee chairs set hearing dates, and none has been posted for Murphy's order. Snowden International is in District 8, represented by City Councilor Sharon Durkan.