JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 15-year-old accused of pointing a gun at a school bus over a $20 debt is facing a felony charge, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The teen, later identified as Kenyon Getzen, was taken into custody Wednesday after police said he pointed a handgun at a bus near a school bus stop at the intersection of San Juan and Lane avenues on the Westside. He did not pull the trigger and no one was injured.
Nine students and two adults were on the bus at the time.
When police interviewed the students, one of them said "his people" owed Getzen $20 and that Getzen had come to him at the bus stop to collect the money. He said he leaned out the bus window and told Getzen to "just chill" and that he would get him the money, according to the arrest report.
"I just saw two boys on the side of the school bus. They were a little rowdy, hands up," said a woman named Ieashia -- who was at Hyde Grove Early Learning Center, where her children attend, and saw the incident unfold. "I really wasn't sure what was going on, but it was just a lot of motion and the bus driver looked like she was unsure of what was going on between the boys on the bus and off the bus."
Police said Getzen got into a burgundy-colored Jeep that drove away and was found a short time later. Police said the vehicle Getzen was found in had been reported stolen.
"It's terrifying. You know, it's terrifying," said Jasman Evans, whose children also attend Hyde Grove Early Learning Center. "You know, if he fired that thing off, it could have went anywhere. It's just a child with a gun. It's ridiculous."
No weapon was recovered by the Sheriff's Office.
Getzen was charged with aggravated assault without intent to kill, which is a third-degree felony.
According to the police report, Getzen goes to school at Grand Park Education Center.
Officers told the bus driver to pull over on Normandy Boulevard just east of I-295 and the students' parents were called to come pick them up.
"It makes me nervous. Like, now I'm going to really be paying attention on what's really going on around and watching them more as they get off and on the school bus," Ieashia said.