UPDATE: 9-year-old student expelled for bringing loaded gun to Kettering elementary school

KETTERING — UPDATE @ 4:26 p.m. (3/1):

The 9-year-old student who admitted to bringing a loaded gun to a Kettering elementary school has been expelled for a year.

“There is no more serious infraction of our Student Rules than one in which the safety and security of our schools, and the students and staff members in those schools, are compromised,” Scott Inskeep, Kettering City Schools superintendent, said in a statement. “Our Board Policy is very clear in terms of the disciplinary consequences for anyone who brings a weapon into our schools.”

Inskeep said the the district handed out the “stiffest penalty possible for this infraction.” According to the district’s Board Policy, “the Superintendent or designee shall expel a student from school for a period of one year for bringing a firearm or knife capable of causing serious bodily injury to a school building.”

INITIAL REPORT:

A loaded gun discovered inside the locker of a 9-year-old Kettering elementary student after dismissal Tuesday has prompted an investigation by the school district and police.

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The district was notified by the parent of a student at John F. Kennedy Elementary after dismissal Tuesday. The student reported to their parent they saw a gun inside another student’s locker, Laura Meek, Principal at JFK Elementary said in a statement to parents, obtained by News Center 7.

Police were called to the school and the gun was removed, Meek said. A Kettering police spokesperson said the gun was found loaded with ammunition.

“While we are not aware that there was any threat or danger to students or staff during the school day today, we do take this very seriously and will be working with the Kettering Police Department on how this incident will be handled,” Meek said in the statement.

In a release on Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Scott Inskeep and Meek said the student was questioned at home by Kettering police and did admit to bringing the gun to school.

“As per Kettering Board of Education policy, the student has been suspended from school for a period of 10 days, with a recommendation from the building principal for expulsion,” the statement said.

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Kettering police have turned the criminal investigation over to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for review of charges, however no criminal charges have been filed, Officer Tyler Johnson, Kettering police spokesperson told News Center 7 Wednesday.

Johnson echoed Meek’s statement saying the discovery doesn’t seem to be part of any threat that officers are aware of.

Officers are also still investigating how the student obtained the gun and brought it to the school, Johnson said.

The police and criminal investigation is being conducted separate from the school investigation, Johnson said. It was not known if the student whose locker the gun was recovered from is facing any charges or discipline from the school.

News Center 7 is working to learn more and we’ll update this page as new details become available.

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