Two handguns found at Coast middle school after officers respond to fire alarm
Two students at Bay-Waveland Middle School face felony charges of possessing firearms on school property, a news release from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says.
School resource officers were responding to an inadvertent fire alarm at the school Thursday when the weapons were discovered.
The news release said deputies were told one student had a gun, secured the campus and detained the student. They found a handgun in the student’s backpack, the news release said.
A second handgun, which deputies believe the detained student gave to a second student, was found in a trash can.
The Bay-Waveland School District has a zero-tolerance policy for weapons on school property, which is a felony under state law.
The first student detained faces an additional felony charge of providing a weapon to another individual on school property, the news release says.
Both juveniles, who will not be identified because of their ages, were taken to Hancock County Youth Court.
Sheriff Ricky Adam said in the release that deputies learned other students may have been aware of the weapons while on the bus ride to school but did not report a situation that had “a potential for disastrous outcomes.”
“I think it is important that parents have these conversations with their children to know that when they are aware of these potentially dangerous situations, it’s OK for them to speak up immediately so that law enforcement can help resolve them in a safe way,” Adam said in the news release.
Parents were notified of the incident through the school’s call-out system.
“While the incident was unfortunate, we are very thankful that no students or staff members were harmed,” Superintendent Sandra Reed said in the news release. “School administrators and HCSO worked well together to quickly locate the weapons and detain the students.
“This incident emphasizes the importance of constant reminders to all students that it’s critically important to let school officials know when a safety issue exists — particularly one that involves a firearm.”
School board president Casey Favre, also quoted in the news release, called the incident “very serious.”
He also said, “As always, we will continue to look at any situation on our campuses to ensure we are working to promote a safe and orderly learning environment for our students.”
