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Police: Student, 17, charged with multiple felonies for bringing unloaded gun and bullets to school

The high school staff initiated safety protocols by issuing a "hold in place" and contacting the Suffolk County Police Department.

Thema Ponton

Apr 15, 2024, 8:15 PM

Updated 249 days ago

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A 17-year-old West Islip High School student has been arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, all felonies, said Suffolk police.
The charges come after district officials said a student brought an unloaded gun and bullets onto school grounds Monday.
The superintendent sent a letter to the school community detailing the incident.
School officials said the gun wasn’t loaded and the student also had bullets on them.
The superintendent said the student showed the gun to others and those students immediately reported it to school staff.
A security guard took the gun from the student and the student was kept in a secure location until the police came, according to the superintendent.
Suffolk police described the gun as a revolver and said the 17-year-old is not being identified because of his age.
People in West Islip tell News 12 that they are glad no one was hurt, but they have questions now about how safe the school is after the incident.
One woman said, “How did he get hold of it…how does a child under the age of eighteen get hold of a weapon?”
Another man said, “To think that a kid would...have access to a gun, was it a legal gun? You know did he take it from his parents? Like where did the come from? I’d like to know the history of the gun.”