Details are still sparse on a Rock Springs High School teacher’s discovery of a firearm on campus Thursday morning, but the local police department says it doesn’t look like a case of a teen accidentally bringing his hunting rifle to school.
The high school had a scheduled evacuation drill just before 9 a.m. Thursday. During the drill, a teacher learned of a weapon in the school, contacted administration and confiscated the weapon, says a Thursday statement by the Rock Springs Police Department.
“It was in the building,” RSPD information officer Elizabeth Coontz told Cowboy State Daily in a follow-up interview.
She declined to release the type of gun found, but said it is not a hunting rifle. It also wasn’t loaded, said Coontz, adding that she did not yet know if any ammunition was found with it.
This situation did not look like a student accidentally leaving his hunting rifle in his truck while at school, she said.
“I can confirm that is not the case in this one,” said Coontz.
Law enforcement agents who were already on campus for the evacuation drill responded and detained — then arrested — the juvenile associated with the weapon. The department expects to see criminal charges filed in this case, the statement says.
Coontz at one point called the juvenile “he,” in her interview. But she declined to give his age or other information about him.
As far as she is aware, the juvenile has not been the subject of prior police incidents, she said. She also didn’t know of any red-flag evidence indicating social media shooting threats.
Rock Springs High School Principal Ben Straka did not respond by publication time to a voicemail request for comment. The Sweetwater County School District 1 Superintendent was not immediately available Thursday.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
