ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department took an 18-year-old into custody Tuesday morning after discovering a gun on school grounds.
A secondary officer was notified by students around 9:40 a.m. at Grand Center Arts Academy of their concern of a firearm being on campus. They brought the officer to a portion of unsecured lockers, where a golden gun was found.
Upon further investigation, police located an 18-year-old who brought the gun. That student was arrested.
“We have no information to suggest that this was a student who was planning an attack or harming people inside the school. It is our understanding—through a very preliminary investigation and what has been expressed to us by the student—that he was having issues with people in the community, and he was carrying the firearm,” Mitch McCoy, SLMPD spokesperson, said. “While Missouri has very relaxed gun laws, it is still very clearly stated in the law that you cannot carry a gun on campus.”
McCoy also reported that police had retrieved a gun from the same school in 2023.
“I think that we can all stand up here with full confidence…safety is a top priority,” he said. “When you look at today’s technology, it’s constantly evolving. We have to make sure we stay on that to make sure some of the most innocent people and lives in our community are protected.”