Student Who Caused Gun Scare To Thank Those Who Helped Him

DENVER (CBS4) - An African student is thanking the community that stood behind him after he brought a fake gun to school.

The teenager, Elhadji Samba Dioum, known to his classmates as Samba, caused an uproar when he brought a fake gun to Denver's East High School. His friends and family planned on gathering Sunday evening at Maggiano's in the Denver Pavilions to thank the people who helped him.

It's been nearly two months since Dioum pleaded guilty and he wanted to get together with the folks that helped him through the legal process. Originally the district attorney charged him with three felonies.

It was last December when the incident happened in the East High School parking lot. The school was put on lockdown for most of the afternoon. The incident reportedly involved a broken BB gun and Dioum demanding $10 from another student. Some say it was all a big misunderstanding. The district attorney's office says there was still a crime committed.

Dioum was sentenced to 175 hours of community service, probation, and there's a protection order for the victim in this case. That settlement was the work of hours of lawyers, paralegals, and others who did it all for free for the Ivory Coast immigrant. With a promising future ahead of the high school senior he's going to thank those people.