Two students arrested at Belleville East High School with a gun and ammunition
A day after a deadly shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, police arrested two students at Belleville East for allegedly bringing a gun and ammunition to school.
The students, ages 15 and 14, were taken into police custody without incident Tuesday morning, said Belleville Assistant Police Chief Mark Heffernan.
The gun was discovered after a parent alerted a school resource officer and Belleville police of a social media post showing a student handling the weapon before class. The school resource officer alerted police at 9:01 Tuesday morning, Heffernan said.
Parents were alerted of the situation by an automated phone call from East Principal Josh Lane.
“A student was discovered to be in possession of an unloaded firearm on campus,” Lane said in the “robocall.” “Our administration and security worked quickly to isolate and apprehend the student without incident.”
Lane said the weapon was not loaded at the time it was recovered and was never displayed or visible at school.
Heffernan said school officials and the school resource officer at Belleville East were alerted to social media activity that showed the suspect handling a firearm prior to school Tuesday.
Campus patrol and the school resource officer quickly investigated and located both students shown on the social media post. A search “yielded a firearm and ammunition,” and the students were isolated from the school population and searched, Heffernan said.
“A 15-year-old male was transported to the Belleville Police Department and is currently in custody,” Heffernan said. “A second subject, a 14-year-old male, was also arrested related to this investigation. He also remains in custody at the Belleville Police Department.”
The investigation is in its early stages, but Heffernan said police do not believe there is an ongoing threat related to the incident.
“The parent who reported the social media activity to school officials and law enforcement should be commended,” he said. “The partnership between Belleville Township District 201 and the Belleville Police Department to ensure the safety of our children is among our highest priorities. The swift action by campus patrol and the school resource officer in the school demonstrates the effectiveness of this partnership.”
Lane said Belleville East appreciated the Belleville Police Department, school administration and campus security “for bringing the incident to a safe resolution.”
The incident “appears to be isolated,” District 201 Superintendent Brian Mentzer said. He added that school staff, including the school resource officer, have been trained to deal with safety issues at school, while calling Tuesday’s threat “a unique circumstance.”
Mentzer praised faculty, staff and law enforcement for acting “swiftly and with clarity” in their response to the incident.
“The situation happened and it’s a negative and I’m saddened by it,” he said. “But I can reconcile the threat in my heart and in my head by the way our folks responded to the incident.”
On Monday, a former student of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School allegedly opened fire on staff and students, killing one student and health teacher before being shot by St. Louis police officers.
The student killed by the gunman was identified as Alexandria Bell, 15. Jean Kuczka, 61, was the slain health teacher.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 11:06 AM.
