A bus driver in Dauphin County has been fired for bringing a toy gun onto the school bus and now he faces charges.
One Lieutenant with Lower Paxton Police said it seemed like the bus driver was just fooling around with the students with the obvious toy gun, but it cost him his job.
It happened Monday as Dauphin County Vo-Tech Students were boarding the bus after school. One student noticed the bus driver, 73-year-old Ronald Jones, had a toy gun under his seat.
When asked about it, Jones pulled out the miniature Tommy Gun and told the student it was for the “bad kids”. As word spread on the bus, the 9th through 12th graders began calling school officials.
A short time later, the bus was stopped and Jones was replaced with another driver. He was fired soon after by his employer, the Rohrer Bus Company.
Police say it was obvious this was a toy gun, but as rumors spread it became more real.
“They were calm. They did the right thing. They used their phones,” commented Susquehanna Township Superintendent Susan Kegerise, speaking about the students. “They absolutely alerted authorities right away, whether it was real or was not. So I am absolutely proud of them and they conducted themselves in a very mature and responsive manner.”
Jones has been charged with disorderly conduct. But we're told he was not a new driver. He'd been driving students at the Dauphin County Vo-Tech for quite some time.
One Lieutenant with Lower Paxton Police said it seemed like the bus driver was just fooling around with the students with the obvious toy gun, but it cost him his job.
It happened Monday as Dauphin County Vo-Tech Students were boarding the bus after school. One student noticed the bus driver, 73-year-old Ronald Jones, had a toy gun under his seat.
When asked about it, Jones pulled out the miniature Tommy Gun and told the student it was for the “bad kids”. As word spread on the bus, the 9th through 12th graders began calling school officials.
A short time later, the bus was stopped and Jones was replaced with another driver. He was fired soon after by his employer, the Rohrer Bus Company.
Police say it was obvious this was a toy gun, but as rumors spread it became more real.
“They were calm. They did the right thing. They used their phones,” commented Susquehanna Township Superintendent Susan Kegerise, speaking about the students. “They absolutely alerted authorities right away, whether it was real or was not. So I am absolutely proud of them and they conducted themselves in a very mature and responsive manner.”
Jones has been charged with disorderly conduct. But we're told he was not a new driver. He'd been driving students at the Dauphin County Vo-Tech for quite some time.