Loaded gun found in Tallassee High School; juvenile in custody

TALLASSEE, AL (WSFA) - Tallassee Police say a juvenile has been taken into custody after bringing a loaded gun onto the campus of Tallassee High School.

According to a press release, on Tuesday school personnel were made aware that a student had come onto campus with a loaded gun. Officers and school personnel responded to the area and located a loaded handgun, which had been hidden in the school's gym.

"We don't know how close he was to carrying out this event," said Tallassee Police Chief Jimmy Rodgers.

It turned out the student brought the gun to school with apparent plans to take matters into his own hands after a long-standing argument with another classmate away from campus.

Officials say the juvenile was taken into custody after the gun was located. The suspect is being held at the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center, charged with possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds.

"There were some issues with nearby facilities that were undergoing renovations and they didn't have any space so we took him to Dallas County," said Rodgers.

The chief says the suspect's mother turned him in to the Tallassee Police Department.

Tallassee Superintendent Kenneth Varner provided this statement regarding the incident:

Yesterday, personnel at Tallassee High School received a tip of a handgun on campus. Obviously, this is something we take very serious. I was pleased with the promptness of the administration and SRO in their response. Within minutes of the tip, school personnel had the gun and child in custody. For confidentiality reasons, we cannot discuss a lot of details. However, we would like for the parents to know that the situation is being handled, the student is not on campus, and that there is not a threat on campus. The Board of Education has policies in place to address situations such as this, and the District will be handling this situation in accordance with those policies. No further information is available at this time due to the juvenile status of the student involved.

This case is being turned over to the Elmore County Juvenile Court at this time. Police are not releasing any additional details due to the age of the suspect.