Nation in brief

Weapons scare at school ends safely

WASHINGTON - A 12-year-old boy dressed in full camouflage gear was arrested Friday morning after sneaking a loaded high-powered rifle and two other guns into a Prince William County, Va., middle school on the last day of classes.

An employee at Bull Run Middle School in Gainesville also was arrested for knowing a gun was on school grounds and not reporting it. The Washington Post, quoting unnamed sources, reports that the boy's mother works in the school's cafeteria, but police would not say whether she was the one arrested, saying only that the 38-year-old woman was "acquainted" with the student.

No shots were fired and the student never pointed the gun at anyone. Nevertheless, police said the boy had brought the gun at least to scare other students who had been picking on him. While the incident was going on, the 1,100 students at the school were locked in their classrooms, then evacuated to nearby Tyler Elementary School.

Shaken parents streamed to the school in the early afternoon. The children were told to leave all their belongings behind when they left the school. They'll be allowed in today and Monday.

Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said the boy had enough firepower to have caused serious harm. But lessons learned by police and school officials after the deadly shootings in Columbine High School in Colorado and elsewhere allowed the situation to end peacefully. The child was carrying a 30.06 rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a 410-gauge shotgun.

A school employee making rounds peered over a bathroom stall and saw the boy with a long rifle, police said. The employee called police, who immediately implemented a plan put into place after the Columbine shooting.

Under the plan, officers quickly formed a search team, entered the school and began separating possible shooters from possible victims by isolating the shooter and locking down the rest of the school.

Police in Colorado were criticized for cordoning off the school and waiting for reinforcements as children inside were being shot.

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that Gov. John G. Rowland must testify before a committee considering his impeachment, making him the first sitting chief executive in U.S. history ordered to appear before a legislative body.

In a 5-2 ruling, the court upheld an earlier decision by a lower court judge, dismissing the governor's arguments that the Legislature was intruding on the separation of powers among branches of government by ordering him to testify.

Rowland is under investigation over gifts from friends, state contractors and employees. He is also the subject of a parallel federal corruption investigation. The three-term Republican has said he provided nothing in return for the gifts and has not compromised his office.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A gunman in a van in a Wal-Mart parking lot killed one police officer and critically wounded another Friday, prompting an hours-long standoff that trapped customers in the store for hours before the attacker was found dead.

Sgt. Gregory Hunter, 54, was fatally shot Friday morning as he and another officer, Bruce Seix, checked on a blue camper-style van that had been parked all night with its engine running, said police spokesman John Brimmer.

Hunter went to the front of the van and Seix to the side, Brimmer said. The suspect, whose name was not released, shot Hunter at least twice through the front windshield; Seix managed to fire a few rounds before he was wounded.

SAN ANTONIO - A collection of historic Texas documents brought in a much better than expected $2.1-million at auction Friday - even though four items were withdrawn at the last minute for fear they had been stolen.

Three documents were removed Friday from the Texas Independence sale at Sotheby's in New York amid concerns they may have been stolen years ago from Texas state archives. A fourth had been removed Thursday for the same reason.

Among the withdrawn items was a copy of Col. William Barret Travis' 1836 letter pledging "victory or death" before the Alamo fell to the Mexican army. It had been expected to bring in between $250,000 and $350,000. Another document - a two-page letter written in 1835 by Alamo defender Jim Bowie - had been expected to fetch between $30,000 and $40,000.

As expected, the most expensive item sold was a copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence signed March 2, 1836 - four days before the Battle of the Alamo. That document sold for $764,000 to an unnamed person who bid by phone.

Questions about some of the items were raised after Tom Taylor, who helped Sotheby's with authentication, circulated a letter warning potential bidders that some of the lots may include property missing from the Texas State Library.

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