A male juvenile was taken into custody around 9:45 a.m. Monday after school security staff found a gun in his possession during routine morning entry screening at Corliss High School in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood. The gun was secured immediately, and no threats were made with it. No students or staff members were physically harmed.
The discovery happened at the school's building in the 800 block of East 103rd Street, according to WGN-TV, which cited Chicago police in reporting the timeline of the incident. The station reported that charges against the juvenile were still pending at the time of its report, and the teen was not publicly identified because of his age. It also was not confirmed whether he was enrolled at Corliss, though school officials described him as a member of the Corliss community.
Chicago police were called to the scene, per a statement from Corliss Principal Evajamania Vondalisa Brown, who told parents that officials are working closely with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department to address the situation and make sure students are safe and supported. Brown also urged parents to report any fears or safety concerns their children might have so the school can step in with support.
A School Built Around Early College Access
Corliss operates as an Early College Science, Technology, Engineering and Math school, a CPS designation that lets students earn both a high school diploma and college credits as early as 10th grade, according to Chicago Public Schools. The campus has drawn safety scrutiny before: in February 2026, five people were hospitalized after someone released pepper spray during a fight inside the building, CBS News Chicago reported at the time.
Under CPS's Search and Seizure Policy, school officials are authorized to search students and visitors, along with their belongings and school property, and to seize any weapons or contraband they find, according to the district's policy. Individualized searches, such as weapons pat-downs, generally require reasonable suspicion, but the policy specifies that reasonable suspicion is not necessary for random searches like metal-detector screenings. Any weapons or drug-related contraband discovered during a search must be handed over to the responding law-enforcement officer, per Chicago Public Schools.
Part of a Wider Pattern Across Illinois Schools
Monday's incident at Corliss follows a similar discovery at an Illinois school in recent weeks. On Oct. 9, a handgun and loaded magazine turned up inside a backpack in an Evanston Township High School student's gym locker, according to the Chicago Tribune. That backpack held an unloaded Glock 48 handgun and a magazine carrying 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and the 17-year-old student was taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center after the Cook County state's attorney's office charged him with carrying or possessing a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
In a separate case in April, a 16-year-old student was arrested after bringing a loaded firearm onto campus at Rock Island High School; staff there discovered the weapon after it was flagged by the school's metal detector, NBC Chicago reported. That student was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a stolen firearm and was taken to a juvenile detention facility pending further proceedings.
The Numbers Behind the Anxiety
The repeated discoveries land against a grim backdrop citywide. An analysis of Chicago police statistics by ABC7 Chicago found that 106 children and teens were shot within a tenth of a mile of Chicago schools during school days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. over a five-year span, with those shootings clustered near 90 CPS and charter schools. Twenty of those shootings were fatal, the outlet's review found.
CPS has been rolling out its Whole School Safety model in response to that landscape, a framework built around trauma-informed care, restorative justice, emotional support and trusted relationships between students and staff, according to WTTW. As of this past August, the model had already been implemented in 275 schools, with the district planning to expand it citywide this year. The push follows the Chicago Board of Education's July 2024 vote to remove all resource officers from the city's schools.
No further details on the juvenile's case, the specific gun recovered, or whether charges have since been filed were available as of Tuesday. Principal Brown's message to parents remains the school community's primary source of information while the investigation continues.
