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A forgetful teen faces a 10-day suspension from school and possible one-year expulsion after school officials learned he had firearms in his vehicle.
The 18-year-old Warsaw Community High School senior was called out of class Friday morning and admitted that two guns were behind the seat of his pickup parked on school grounds. The school corporation has a policy against firearms on school property and the suspension and expulsion are requirements of school policy and state law for anyone violating the policy.
The teen told school officials that he had gone hunting the day before with friends and left the unloaded weapons - a .22-caliber rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun - in the vehicle with the intention of removing them before leaving for school on Friday.
However, the teen said that he was running late on Friday and forgot about the guns until he was approached by school officials.
The guns were not visible from outside the vehicle and the fact that they were in the teen's pickup was disclosed to an administrator through an anonymous tip.
No charges have been filed at this time, but school officials said it is routine to forward information on such incidents to the Kosciusko County prosecutor. The guns were confiscated and will be held for 30 days before being released. One belongs to the teen and the other to the father of the teen's girlfriend. The report did not mention whether any ammunition was in the vehicle.
During the suspension/expulsion period, the teen is not allowed on school property or could face trespass charges. School officials said that the expulsion period could be shorter and that the one year noted in policy is not mandatory.
Officials allowed the teen to retrieve his books and other school work from his locker before being escorted from the premises. He will be allowed to keep up on homework assignments and, if the expulsion extends until spring, would be able to graduate with his class.
