Offhand gun remark leads Tri-City police to pull student from school bus
Kennewick police say they found no gun on a Desert Hills Middle School student after pulling him from a school bus on the ride home Friday and searching him.
“The parents of the student are cooperating with the investigation and there is no indication the student had or will have access to firearms,” officers with the Kennewick Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.
“All indications are this was an offhand comment made by the student. The student was not arrested and was turned over to parents and is pending further disciplinary review and process by the Kennewick School District,” the post continued.
The allegations stemmed from an interaction between students when one mentioned “having a firearm,” police say.
No students reported seeing the student with a firearm, but another reported the comment to school staff. Several school resources officers responded to investigate.
Working with staff, police determined the student in question had already boarded a school bus, left campus and that there was no firearm in the student’s locker.
Police were able to make contact with the bus the student was on. A search of the student’s backpack was conducted near the intersection of Reata and Toro roads, and yielded no firearms.
Kennewick police are reminding students and the community to “say something” if you hear troubling conversations.
“This information is meant to dispel rumors, equip parents with facts and provide everyone the opportunity to have important conversations with their youth about what should and should not occur. Students should never be joking about firearms, shootings, or any other similar incidents. We commend the student who stepped up immediately and reported it,” the Facebook post reads.
