High school student arrested after bringing gun to a Kennewick school in a backpack

A Kennewick High School student was arrested and jailed Monday after bringing a gun to school.

School staff members learned about the gun in the student’s backpack and contacted the school’s resource officer, who is a Kennewick police officer, according to a post on the Kennewick police Facebook page.

It’s unclear how staff members knew about the firearm.

Kennewick school officials said that the gun was unloaded and no one made any threats.

“We want to let you know that one of our students arrived at school and after a search of their backpack a firearm was discovered,” school district officials said.

Bringing any kind of weapon onto school grounds is against the law, so the student was arrested and booked into the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center, Kennewick police said.

Washington state law and school district policy requires a mandatory one-year expulsion for students who bring guns on to school premises.

“Please discuss this incident with your children to emphasize that it is against the law to bring weapons of any type to school,” Kennewick police said.