Student Had Gun On Him

La Grange Police arrested a 16-year-old student for carrying a stolen handgun inside La Grange High School on Tuesday, May 21.

The incident happened just two days before classes were dismissed for the summer break.

Police Chief David Gilbreath said school officials searched the student’s car shortly before the end of the school day on Tuesday. They found marijuana inside the vehicle, which was parked on school property. Upon questioning inside the school, they discovered that the student was carrying a 9mm handgun with a loaded magazine in the waistband of his shorts.

“He had been walking around school with it,” Gilbreath said.

School Resource Officer Jeff Archerd took the juvenile into custody. Gilbreath said the student’s parents are cooperating with the investigation, but the juvenile has refused to answer questions about how he got the gun and why he was carrying it.

The gun was reported stolen out of Jim Wells County in South Texas. Gilbreath said the youth has no known connection to that area.

Police detained the student and transported him to the Victoria County Juvenile Detention Facility in Victoria. He faces three charges: unlawful possession of a firearm on school premises, possession of stolen property and possession of marijuana.

The incident has already sparked conversations about metal detectors on campus. La Grange I.S.D. does not currently have any walk-through detectors installed on its campuses. Superintendent Andy McHazlett said the school uses metal detector wands at its DAEP facility.

“After the incident yesterday, that’s something we’re going to bring up with our board members,” he said.

McHazlett said LGISD officials will likely visit other school districts to learn how they use metal detectors to prevent guns from coming on campus.