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Man accused of taking gun on CMS bus in court

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A parent charged with bringing a gun onto a Charlotte Mecklenburg school bus is hiring an attorney and is not commenting on the charge.
 
Milton Staton told Eyewitness News that he cannot discuss the case while it's still in court.  That came Thursday afternoon after Staton made his first appearance on the felony charge, and it leaves parents of some of the students on that bus with more than a few questions.
 
"My main concern is why would you get on there with a gun?  Because kids look up to us as parents," said Felicia Moore.  Moore's 11-year-old daughter told her that Staton had gotten on the bus because he believed that students had been bullying his daughter. 
 
Moore said that her daughter told her Staton had made sure that the students saw the gun and then made a threatening comment.
        
"Our investigation found that that allegation is not true," CMS Deputy Police Chief Lisa Mangum told Eyewitness News on Tuesday. 
 
Mangum said that the bus driver and a monitor on the bus told investigators that they only saw the gun in its holster as Staton turned to leave.
         
While it may take months for Staton's case to work its way through the courts, Moore and other parents are asking why CMS did not notify parents about the incident until she and others spoke out weeks later.
 
"I know I wasn't notified, even after the incident and I feel like all of the kids on the bus... their parents should've been notified," Moore said.

Read the previous story:  Warrant issued for dad accused of carrying gun on school bus