EXCLUSIVE: Mother Of Teen Questioned During College Lockdown Speaks Out
By Diana Rocco
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- So far no charges have been filed in connection with Tuesday's scare at the Community College of Philadelphia.
A teenager was questioned by police after being accused of having a gun inside the school.
The teen's mother spoke exclusively with CBS 3 Eyewitness News.
"Do you know how painful that is? Painful," she said.
The mom of the 17-year-old Community College of Philadelphia student questioned in Tuesday's gun scare says her son's life will never be the same.
"When he came home last night and I just listened to him tell me about his day it just literally broke my heart because I wasn't there for him to take that to be there for him," she said.
The image of her son in handcuffs in police custody was live on TV and over social media. He was never charged and a gun was never found.
"His own peers blamed him and called him all kind of names on social media. A weirdo, you know, suspect, gunman, criminal, terrorist," she said.
Police were acting on a report from a 21-year-old student that there was a confrontation and a gun was pulled. Just before 10 a.m., SWAT teams stormed the college and put it on lockdown.
"When they accused him in the classroom he willingly put his hands up and gave himself in. Said you can check me. They checked my son from head to toe, they checked his book bag, they checked his car. And the only thing they found was his church CDs in his glove compartment," she said.
She says her son was in custody for 10 hours, put in an adult cell and publicly humiliated. He doesn't want to return to school. She believes the 21-year-old fabricated the story. She wants to see charges filed and an apology from police.
"You go on YouTube and you see it over and over again. You see classmates talk about him like he's some monster. And they never found a gun," she said.
While police say there was a pre-existing relationship between the two, they have found inconsistencies in the 21-year-old's story. He has been called back down to Central detectives for more questioning.
