Employee who allegedly brought gun to Belleville school in purse may face charges
The St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office is determining “what charges are appropriate” for a Belleville School District 118 employee who allegedly brought a gun to work in her purse.
The incident took place at Central Junior High School, according to School Superintendent Ryan Boike.
Belleville police were dispatched to the school at 5:34 p.m. Monday in reference to a purse found in an “employee only” area, according to an email from Assistant Chief Mark Heffernan.
“When checking the purse for identification, employees located a firearm in the purse,” he wrote. “The purse was relinquished to Belleville Police. The owner of the purse responded to the school in an attempt to claim her purse.
“The suspect was taken into custody without incident. The suspect, an adult female, was transported to The St. Clair County Jail pending further investigation. The St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit is investigating this case.”
Authorities aren’t yet identifying the employee or the employee’s position with the school district, which includes about 3,500 students at two junior high schools, eight elementary schools and a pre-kindergarten center.
Boike sent an email Tuesday morning to District 118 parents, notifying them that an employee had been found in possession of a gun on school property Monday evening.
“The employee had the handgun in an area restricted to employees, not accessible to students, for the purpose of personal safety, and stored in a personal bag,” Boike wrote. “The District immediately notified local law enforcement officials of the incident and they are handling the matter.“
Boike noted that state and federal laws prohibit the possession of guns or any other weapons on school property.
“We can report that at no time was any student or employee in any imminent danger,” he wrote. “The safety of our school community is always our top priority! We take this matter seriously and will take immediate action to ensure all employees are fully aware of the prohibition against weapons on school property.”
No charges had been filed against the employee as of Wednesday morning, according to Heffernan.
Chris Allen, spokesman for State’s Attorney James Gomric’s office, emailed the following statement to the BND on Tuesday evening:
“The State’s Attorney’s Office is in receipt of the investigative reports relating to the referenced incident. An attorney will be making the determination as to what charges are appropriate in the next 24 hours. We would note that the suspect is in the custody of law enforcement at the time of this statement.”
Here is the full text of the email Boike sent to District 118 parents:
District 118 Families,
To ensure open communication about potential safety issues, I want to inform you that an incident occurred last night in which an employee was found in possession of a handgun on school property. The employee had the handgun in an area restricted to employees, not accessible to students, for the purpose of personal safety, and stored in a personal bag. The District immediately notified local law enforcement officials of the incident and they are handling the matter. The possession of a handgun or any weapon on school property is strictly forbidden by federal and state laws. We can report that at no time was any student or employee in any imminent danger. The safety of our school community is always our top priority! We take this matter seriously and will take immediate action to ensure all employees are fully aware of the prohibition against weapons on school property. We can make no further comment related to the employee involved in this incident as it is a confidential personnel matter.
Respectfully,
Dr. Boike
