A 13-year-old Aurora boy has admitted carrying a loaded semiautomatic handgun to his school last week, Aurora police said.
Police have referred the boy and three other Washington Middle School pupils to the Kane County Youth Home and Juvenile Court, said Police Lt. Michael Gilloffo.
An off-duty part-time police officer was driving a school bus when a pupil told him that someone at the back of the bus had a gun, Gilloffo said.
The driver drove the bus to a police station, parked, and found a gun on a seat between pupils, Gilloffo said.
The boy and two girls, ages 13 and 14, were taken into police custody. A 14-year-old boy admitted to a police school counselor Monday that he had handled the gun, Gilloffo said.
The 13-year-old boy “claims he found the gun behind (Tu Casa Restaurant) on North Lake Street in Aurora,” Gilloffo said. “He brought it to school to show people.
“He gave it to one of the two girls to keep in her bag.”
The girl told police she hid the gun above a ceiling tile in a school restroom during the school day and returned it to the boy on the bus later that day, he said.
The boy told police he had the gun for “a couple of days” but took it to school only on Friday, Gilloffo said.