A loaded handgun brought onto the campus of Monroeville Elementary School was recovered the following day after the student who carried it in admitted to family members that the weapon was still hidden inside the building, according to Monroe County Public Schools Superintendent Greg Shehan.
Shehan said the gun was brought to school on a Monday and found on Tuesday.
How the weapon was found
According to the superintendent’s account, the sequence began when a parent contacted school officials to report that a student had shown their child a pistol on campus while the children were walking to a bus.
“The administration immediately pulled video and witnessed the incident,” Shehan said in a statement issued to parents. “The student was brought to the office immediately and searched. No weapon was found.”
Law enforcement was notified and the student’s parent was contacted. Shehan said the student initially told school officials the weapon had already been taken back home. That account changed after the family was unable to locate the gun.
“The student confessed to the family that the weapon was hidden in the school,” Shehan said. “Administration immediately went to the location in the school and found the loaded weapon.”
District urges parents to talk with children
The superintendent said the incident underscores why students need to report weapons on campus rather than stay quiet. District officials are asking parents to talk directly with their children about campus safety and about telling an adult when they see or hear about a weapon at school.
Parents whose children hear of a weapon on a campus are urged to contact both law enforcement and school administration immediately.
The district has not released details about any discipline in the case. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.