Police: Brien McMahon High School Student Found Carrying Starter Pistol

Four Brien McMahon High School students stopped from walking off the school's campus Monday morning led to the discovery that one was carrying a starter pistol, police said.

During a news briefing, Police Chief Harry W. Rilling said the discovery occurred after the school's principal, Suzanne Brown Koroshetz, noticed the four walking away from the school. He said Koroshetz got in her car, drove to where they were and stopped them.

Rilling said Koroshetz turned them over to school security officers who, thinking they may be carrying narcotics or marijuana, searched them. One of them, who is 16, had the starter pistol in his backpack, Rilling said.

Rilling said school security officers can search a student's property if he or she is found violating school rules.

The school's resource officer, Jeremy Salley, who is a police officer, was then called and he place the youth under arrest.

Police could not release the youth's name because he is charged as a youthful offender.

"We don't know the purpose as to why he had that with him," Rilling said. "We don't have any information to believe that at this point he was using it for anything illegal or for having ill intent."

Rilling noted that the starter pistol was incapable of firing bullets, but can fire blank shells. He said the incident would be turned over to the department's Youth Bureau for further investigation.

Rilling said he was unaware what the student was charged with, but it could be something along the lines of carrying a facsimile of a firearm.