A parent was arrested Monday morning after bringing what appeared to be a 3D-printed firearm onto the campus of Romulus High School, where the weapon fell to the ground during a scuffle with his daughter in view of several students and staff members. Romulus Community Schools Superintendent Benjamin Edmondson said he was alerted to the incident by a text from the Romulus Police Department at approximately 8:25 a.m. on October 12, 2026.
According to ClickOnDetroit, Edmondson said police informed him that the man had been interacting with his daughter before officers became involved, and that a scuffle between the two led to the object hitting the ground. Edmondson described the item only as appearing to be a 3D-printed firearm, and said police referred to it as a facsimile firearm. He had already been on campus for nearly an hour before learning of the incident.
“Everyone is safe, and the incident has been addressed,” Edmondson said, according to the outlet's report. He credited police with handling the matter quickly and keeping it relatively low-profile, noting that most students were reportedly unaware anything had happened and that classes continued as normal. Parents, he said, did not need to pick up their children from school.
Superintendent Was Already on Campus to Address Prior Threat
Edmondson sent a message to families as quickly as possible after receiving notification of Monday's arrest, though his message included no additional details about potential charges or the identity of the parent involved. He said he had no additional information to share at the time.
Edmondson had planned to return to the high school Monday afternoon specifically to speak with students about an incident from the previous Friday. That earlier incident refers to the October 9 cancellation of Romulus High's homecoming football game against Annapolis High School, which was called off following credible reports of a coordinated threat of student violence, as Hoodline previously reported. Edmondson thanked the Romulus Police Department for its response and for its continued support of the school community.
A District With a Recent History of Weapons Scares
Monday's arrest adds to a run of security incidents at Romulus Community Schools campuses over the past two years. In January 2026, a 44-year-old man was arrested after allegedly attempting to enter nearby Romulus Middle School with a handgun and firing a shot outside the building, forcing a campus lockdown, according to the same Hoodline report. In September 2024, Romulus High School was placed on lockdown after an unverified threat was AirDropped to students' mobile phones during school hours; police later determined that threat lacked credibility.
The arrest also lands just weeks after Michigan law changed how districts are required to respond to safety concerns. Effective October 1, 2026, state law requires every K-12 school in Michigan to operate a behavioral threat assessment and management team to identify and evaluate alarming behavior or safety threats, per Hoodline's reporting on the new statute.
Legal Questions Over How the Weapon Will Be Classified
How the object recovered Monday gets classified could significantly shape any charges. Under Michigan Penal Code MCL 750.237a, carrying or possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon within a designated weapon-free school zone is prohibited and carries distinct criminal penalties, according to guidance published by the Michigan State Police. Separately, Michigan law enforcement guidelines specify that possessing a non-firearm device or pneumatic weapon within a weapon-free school zone is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 — a distinction that matters given Edmondson's description of the item as a facsimile firearm.
State lawmakers have been working to close gaps around 3D-printed weapons more broadly. The Michigan Senate passed Senate Bills 331 and 332 in June 2025 to outlaw manufacturing or possessing unserialized 3D-printed firearms or unfinished receivers without a federal license, though the measures remained pending in the House Committee on Government Operations as of late 2026, according to tracking by 3D Printing Is Not a Crime. In June 2026, law enforcement officers in nearby Warren seized 3D-printed Glock handgun frames, machine gun conversion switches, and a 3D printer during a search warrant execution, as reported by CBS News Detroit.
The incident also follows a separate case in Wayne County involving a child and a firearm at a school setting. On September 28, 2026, a parent was arrested in nearby Canton Township after a toddler brought a loaded handgun inside a backpack to a daycare center, prompting staff to intervene and secure the weapon, according to Canton Township officials. Romulus High School serves 518 students in grades 9 through 12, drawing from Romulus and portions of Inkster, with about 73.8% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, according to data compiled by Public School Review.
