Update, 9:10 p.m. — An OPS official said the district is not aware of any threat made toward the school or toward any person by the juvenile who was arrested with a handgun while on at Owensboro Middle School property Monday afternoon. Owensboro Times is still working to confirm whether the juvenile was in the building all day with the weapon, and if they were inside a building or just on the grounds when arrested.
“There was never a threat made toward the school or anyone at the school that we are aware of. This was an isolated incident and there’s no reason to believe there is any further danger at all, so there’s no reason to cancel school,” Owensboro Public Schools Information Officer Jared Revlett told Owensboro Times late Monday night.
Regarding how the school district informed families, Revlett said: “An email was sent out to all parents of OMS students. We did not send out a phone call. … If they are parents of students who are at OMS (full time) and didn’t receive the email from the school their information may be wrong in infinite campus or they aren’t listed as a contact for the student.”
Revlett referred OT to the Owensboro Police Department for more information about the juveniles actions during the day and where the arrest took place. We are waiting for a response from OPD.
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Original story, 5:53 p.m. — A juvenile was arrested Monday afternoon after being found in possession of a loaded firearm and a knife while on the property of Owensboro Middle School, officials have confirmed.
According to the Owensboro Police Department, at approximately 2:20 p.m. an OPD School Resource Officer was working on school property when the officer was notified by school administration of a juvenile in possession of a firearm.
School officials and the officer recovered both a loaded firearm and a knife from the juvenile. The juvenile was arrested and lodged in the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center.
The juvenile was charged with possession of a handgun by a minor and unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, according to OPD.
Owensboro Public Schools Public Information Officer Jared Revlett sent a statement to Owensboro Times on behalf of the district.
“Thanks to the bravery of a student coming forward with information and the quick action of our staff, the administrators and our school resource officer, we were able to avoid a potentially harmful situation,” Revlett said. “We take the safety of our students and staff very seriously and this is an example of the training we have in place for our staff and students working to successfully prevent a potential tragedy. We continue to explore more ways to improve on school safety and will take lessons learned from this incident as we make those decisions moving forward.”
