School: Gun belonged to student’s parent
No one was arrested; case referred to the prosecutor’s office.
Officials say a student brought a gun onto school property; prosecutors will determine if he’ll be charged.
A Wayne High HUBER HEIGHTS — School student could face a year of expulsion for reportedly bringing a firearm onto school property, but Huber Heights City Schools officials said its unlikely he will “lose his education” or be dealt with severely in the judicial system.
That’s because the unidentified student reportedly couldn’t even open the gun case holding the weapon, district officials said, noting the firearm belonged to a parent who arrived and opened the safe.
“It was the parent’s weapon,” said David Ford, safety director of Huber Heights City Schools. “The student did not know what the case contained. Apparently, it had slid out from underneath the seat and was visible.”
Ford said the district was tipped off about marijuana possibly being in a car parked in the lot. About 250 cars were searched, but no marijuana was located.
They did find a 9MM Keltic handgun loaded with a bullet in the chamber and seven loaded magazines — a total of 42 rounds, according to the report.
“Had we not been looking for one thing, this would never have been discovered,” Ford said.
The unidentified student was not arrested or taken into custody, said Huber Heights Police Sgt. Charles Taylor.
However, the case was turned over to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine in coming weeks if the student should be charged, Taylor said. The student could face an illegal conveyance of a firearm into a safety school zone charge if the prosecutor opts to file charges, Taylor said.
Ford said the parent was distraught and emotional.
“He became quickly aware he had put his son into a lot of jeopardy,” Ford said. “The system will play itself out . ... But I don’t think the student will lose his education and I don’t think he’ll be dealt with severely with the juvenile system.”
Ford said there was no threat: “It didn’t really affect anybody else.”
But the incident still required school district officials and police to take action, Taylor said.
“Any time a weapon is brought on school ground, we have to take it seriously,” he said. “In today’s age there’s no not taking it serious. It has to be done and it has to be done in a particular way. What we try to do is make sure we eliminate any potential threats. And we did Friday and removed that weapon.”
Huber Heights City Schools Superintendent Sue Gunnell said the district is “currently going through disciplinary procedures.” She said discipline for such an offense could include suspension with recommendation for expulsion up to a year.
Gunnell declined to provide any details about the student, other than she was not aware of any other disciplinary issues with the student.
The district did not notify parents after the incident because there was not a threat, Gunnell said.
“The staff involved and the police involved handled the situation very quickly and very promptly,” Gunnell said. “There was no information that indicated that there was any type of threat or ill will toward anybody.”
Ford said parents need to be aware of what children are doing, and noted the gravity of the incident.
“Having any type of weapon on any school environment is a serious offense,” he said. “Under no circumstances do we tolerate any type of weapons in our school environment.”