Teen facing felony charges for allegedly having loaded gun at Hamilton High School

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

A 16-year-old boy remains in Butler County Juvenile Detention after alleged bringing a loaded gun to Hamilton High School Wednesday.

The teen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon (loaded), a fourth-degree felony and illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon in a school zone, a fifth-degree felony.

The complaint filed by Hamilton police Officer Ernest Huff says the teen was found in possession of the firearm with a bullet in the chamber about 1:45 p.m.

“(The defendant) had on his person a .380 semi automatic weapon,” Huff said in the complaint. “This weapon was loaded with one in the chamber.”

The teen was arraigned by a juvenile court magistrate Thursday and ordered to remain in juvenile detention until a pre-trial hearing before Juvenile Court Judge Kathleen Romans on Dec. 9.

A tip from staff alerted building administrators about a student bringing a gun to school, according to school district officials.

A notice sent to school families Wednesday afternoon told parents of the incident.

There was no report of any injuries among students or school staff.

Hamilton Schools Superintendent Mike Holbrook said Thursday the student’s juvenile status and ongoing investigation limits what information he can share about the incident.

Holbrook, however, said the male student involved “has only been enrolled in the district since early October.”

Moreover, he said “the investigation is ongoing, but we believe this to be an isolated incident as no other students were involved.”

As to any changes in security procedures at the high school, he said “Hamilton High School has used walk-through metal detectors and wanding for the past two years. This is done randomly daily during student arrival and at many after-school events.”

“A staff member was notified that a student brought a gun to school,” wrote school officials Wednesday in their message to school families.

“School officials and a school resource officer (SRO) immediately investigated the incident and a gun was found on a Hamilton High School – Main Campus student.”

“The investigation is ongoing and the student in question, including the weapon, has been taken into custody by the Hamilton Police Department.

“We will continue to work with the (police) to protect our children, both during school and throughout the community.”