‘Defuse it quickly;’ Police arrest Springfield student who brought gun to football game

CENTERVILLE — News Center 7 has learned more information about the student who brought a gun to a high school football game.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Teen arrested after bringing gun to local high school football game

On Friday, Nov. 3, police arrested a 17-year-old Springfield student after he brought a firearm to the playoff football game between Centerville and Springfield.

“Don’t blame the gun it’s a stupid kid,” Brian Gulliver said.

News Center 7 had crews at the game Friday night for Touchdown 7 coverage.

While crews were alongside fans, parents, and students, they did not know someone in the stands had a gun on them.

A fan spotted the weapon and told police, who quickly devised a plan.

“We wanted to make sure that we had him away from the crowd…he did in fact have a gun. So, we arrested a 17-year-old male from Springfield,” Centerville Police Public Information Officer John Davis said.

Police still are unsure how the minor got a gun or who it is.

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“It could have been a bad situation…We don’t know what his motivation was and he didn’t offer that,” Davis said.

This is the first time this season that Centerville Police have been called to take action at a game.

At other high school football games, there have been multiple Friday night fights. One student brought a fake gun to a game in Kettering.

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“It’s a lack of discipline. Parents don’t discipline their children,” Gulliver said.

Ahead of hosting as a neutral field for playoff games, Centerville City School released a statement on safety precautions.

“Police officers are on duty at every football game in our stadium, whether Centerville is playing or not,” the statement read.

Police urge people to continue coming to them with anything suspicious they may see.

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“It’s the old cliche, you know, see something say something…We’re just thankful that we could defuse it quickly and handle the situation appropriately,” Davis said.

The student arrested is facing multiple charges some of which are for concealing the gun, having it here in a school zone, and resisting arrest.

The school said since it can be scary for people to hear about a weapon being on campus, counseling was offered to students at school on Monday.

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