A 15-year-old Middletown High School student was arrested Tuesday after school staff found a loaded 9mm handgun and a four-inch knife hidden in his crossbody bag, acting on a tip from a concerned parent. The teen resisted when a school resource officer and staff tried to take the bags from him, and officials say a struggle broke out before the weapons were recovered.
WDEL reports that the school received a report from a parent that a student may have had a weapon. FOX 29 Philadelphia reports that Delaware State Police said the student had displayed a knife he kept in a crossbody bag and made threatening statements during school hours that Monday.
When the student arrived at school the following morning, at around 10:40 a.m. local time, a school resource officer and staff members were waiting. They escorted him into a nearby empty classroom, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The student refused to hand over his backpack and crossbody bag, and the station reports that attempting to take the bags from him led to a physical struggle before staff secured them.
What Officials Found Inside the Bags
Once the bags were secured, the school resource officer and staff found the handgun and knife inside the student's crossbody bag, per the same account. The search turned up a loaded 9mm handgun and a four-inch knife, FOX 29 Philadelphia reported, though the Appoquinimink School District message to families did not go further into the condition or placement of each item.
The 15-year-old was charged with five felonies tied to the discovery, including possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition by a person under 21, possession of a firearm in a safe school zone, and possession of a deadly weapon other than a firearm by a person under 18, the station reported. FOX 29 Philadelphia reported he was committed to a juvenile detention center on a $70,000 cash bond.
District Says No Ongoing Threat
The Appoquinimink School District told families there was no current threat at Middletown High School following the arrest, WDEL reported. The district said it was actively working with Delaware State Police and would share more details as soon as they became available, according to the outlet's report of the district's statement.
District officials also thanked the parent who reported the concern and commended school teams for their quick response that day, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The Delaware Code includes provisions addressing possession of a firearm or other deadly weapon within a designated Safe School and Recreation Zone, which identify potential felony or misdemeanor classifications, though the Delaware Code text reviewed does not spell out how those provisions apply to this specific case.
The incident is not the first time a loaded firearm has turned up in a Middletown High School student's belongings. Delaware State Police records from May 2018 describe a separate case in which a student resisted staff before being found with a 9mm handgun in a book bag.
