Security Guard Held in Gun Deal With Student

LOS ANGELES — Police arrested a 22-year-old school district security guard and suspected gang member Wednesday on charges of selling a sawed-off shotgun to a student, authorities said.

Michael Lau, who works at John Marshall High School on Tracy Street, allegedly sold the gun last week to an 18-year-old student, said John Torres, assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The investigation that followed found that Lau is a member of the Wah Ching Asian street gang, Torres said, although school officials were unaware of that when they hired him.

The suspect was arrested as he arrived at school early Wednesday, he said.

The ATF, the Los Angeles Police Department and school district police cooperated to arrest Lau under the federal government’s new Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, which assists law enforcement officials with gun tracing and other resources to crack down on the illegal supply of guns to juveniles.

The student notified police last month after Lau allegedly asked him about buying a Remington 870 shotgun. Authorities arranged for the student to buy the $350 weapon off campus and then turn it over to authorities, Torres said.

If convicted, Lau faces up to 10 years in federal prison. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court today for a bail hearing.