GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A handgun was seized from a student at Ottawa Hills High School Tuesday morning.
Security officers and public safety officials with Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) found the gun inside the student’s bag after the metal detector’s alarm went off at the entrance, the school district says.
The gun was reportedly loaded and stolen.
“It is disheartening to hear that guns are winding up in the hands of our young people as we all know the devastating consequences that can and have come as a result,” says Superintendent Dr. Leadriane Roby. “I’m proud that the systems we have in place to protect our scholars and staff worked and that this gun never made it into our hallways. But my concern for our children extends beyond the walls of our schools. We cannot tolerate our children having this type of access to guns. It’s unacceptable.”
We’re told the student was later placed into custody by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD).
Classroom instruction went on as scheduled.
GRPD says the student is a 15-year-old boy. A motive is not currently known.
The Kent County Prosecutor's Office tells FOX 17 the boy was later charged with carrying a concealed weapon, bringing a gun to a school zone and for possessing marijuana as a minor.
Four guns were confiscated at GRPS during the 2022–23 school year.
