MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio -- A 16-year-old student at Mount Healthy High School was arrested and charged with a felony Tuesday after authorities discovered a gun in the student's locker, according to a news release from Springfield Township police.
The student now faces a fifth-degree felony charge of illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon into a school.
Superintendent Riva Cosby said the building administrator got a call Tuesday morning; she said she thought it came from Colerain Township police. A parent realized a gun was missing from his car and thought his child may have taken it.
School resources officers talked with the student and found the gun in the student's locker, Cosby said.
The student was led away from the school in handcuffs, Cosby said. Police said the student was then transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.
No students were ever in danger, Cosby said, and school officials took immediate action.
Principal Milton Folson said the student was just concerned about general safety.
"He didn't necessarily have any problems with students here at Mount Healthy, but wanted the firearm for protection."
The lockdown lasted slightly more than an hour, Folson said. The school has taken disciplinary action against the student, but officials said they couldn't give any details.
No other students knew about the situation, Folson said.
He said that the teachers and other school staff try to make students feel comfortable telling them if they spot a gun at school.
"Hopefully keeping that two-way communication in process will shed light on the kind of things schools have to deal with, and hopefully prevent them in the future," Folson said.
