A gun was located on a student at Todd County Central High School Wednesday and the teen was taken into custody.
School resource officers were notified just before noon of a student with a gun and the Todd County Sheriff’s Office says the handgun was located in a fanny pack type bag.
The 17-year old male student was removed from the school property and no one was injured.
Todd County School System Superintendent Mark Thomas says the handgun was loaded and while he isn’t aware of any threats made by the student to harm anyone, the student’s intentions for having the handgun are unknown and under investigation.
Thomas says he’s very thankful to the students who notified authorities of a possible gun on campus and the school was fortunate at the time to have two resource officers on campus.
He says the immediate priority was to get the student out of the building to secure the campus.
An arrest citation for the student says he’s charged with unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, assault of a police officer in the third degree and resisting arrest.
He allegedly disobeyed officer commands when approached and at some point tried to pull the gun from the bag around his neck while struggling with the officers outside of the school building.
One of the deputies was injured in the struggle that ended with the suspect and weapon in police custody, according to the report.
Thomas called the response a team effort between the Todd County Sheriff’s Office, Elkton Police and school system personnel and says he’s proud how everyone worked together to be sure students were safe.
Todd Central was finishing the day on a soft lockdown and there will be an additional police presence at the school for at least the remainder of the week, according to Thomas.
Guidance counselors will be on heightened alert for any students struggling with mental health issues following the scare and the district will also be making good use of its AXIS Program in partnership with the local health department to meet any mental health needs that may come about.
Thomas says the district’s daily top priority remains the safety of students, faculty and staff in each of its buildings.