Shotguns, Ammo Found in Student Car at Southern High School

A school resource officer found three unloaded shotguns, shotgun ammunition and a hunting knife in the car of a Southern High School student on Thursday morning while searching the vehicle for alcohol, according to a county police statement. 

School administrators and police say there was no threat of violence related to the guns at any time. 

The previous night, school cleaning staff found a bag containing a bottle of alcohol. The discovery prompted administrators to review video footage of the school to determine who brought the alcohol into the school, according to a letter issued on Thursday to parents and on the school website by school principal Marc Procaccini.

When the student arrived at school Thursday morning, staff and the resource officer searched the vehicle for alcohol, which lead to the discovery of the guns, ammunition and hunting knife. 

After being questioned, police determined that the student forgot to remove the guns from the car after engaging in recreational shooting with a friend. 

"Our interviews with the student revealed he and a friend were shooting guns on a farm last weekend and he simply did not take the guns, ammunition, or knife out of the car. Those items were never taken out of the vehicle today until they were seized by police, and no threats were ever made to our school’s students or staff," Procaccini wrote in a letter to parents. 

Procaccini also said that possession of weapons on school property is a violation of the AACPS student code of conduct. Police seized the weapons and the student was charged on "a juvenile citation for possession of a deadly weapon on school property," according to police. 

The school will also be taking disciplinary action against the student with regards to the incident, according to Procaccini.