Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced on Wednesday that his office has filed multiple criminal charges against a parent who allowed her juvenile son to take a loaded firearm and ammunition to a high school in Van Nuys. The charges represent the first ever filing of a criminal case by the city attorney’s office for safe storage violations.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer discussed gun violence in schools on Wednesday, and announced that charges have been filed against a defendant who allowed her son to take a loaded gun to school. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office)

“Guns have no place in or around our schools,” Feuer said. “Our office will continue to take aggressive action to protect our kids. And I call on parents to prevent potentially devastating consequences by safely storing every firearm they own.”

The defendant, Leah Wilcken, 41, was charged with four criminal counts of allowing a child to carry a firearm off-premises, allowing a child to take a firearm to school, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and permitting a child to be placed in a situation where their person or health is endangered. Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The city attorney will also be seeking penalties that could prohibit the defendant from possessing any weapons.

The charges stem from an incident on May 13, when the defendant’s 17 year-old son is alleged to have brought a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, with an additional loaded seven round magazine, to Will Rogers High School in Van Nuys. A witness reported seeing the firearm to school police who recovered the gun and ammunition from the student’s backpack. During the course of the investigation, the defendant refused to cooperate with officers.

On May 14, Los Angeles Police Department officers served a search warrant at the defendant’s home and recovered a shotgun and four additional handguns. None of the weapons were locked or properly stored. One gun was found in a kitchen cabinet near a sink.

Feuer also announced that Women Against Gun Violence will present parents with information on safe gun storage, at schools where the city attorney’s Neighborhood School Safety Program is being established.

“As part of Women Against Gun Violence’s ongoing work to protect children and families from gun violence, our newest program, The TALK Project, works to educate parents about the legal and personal responsibilities associated with gun ownership and children,” said Margot Bennett, executive director of Women Against Gun Violence. “We applaud the City Attorney’s office for their efforts in keeping our children safe.”

The city attorney will also continue to work closely with LAPD to identify and verify that individuals prohibited from possessing firearms in neighborhoods around schools, and in gang injunction zones, are in compliance with state law.