A handgun and loaded magazine were found inside a backpack in an Evanston Township High School student’s gym locker Oct. 9, according to a message sent to school parents and community members.
Superintendent Marcus Campbell told staff and families over email that the handgun was discovered “during a routine investigation” Friday morning and that the incident is being further investigated by the Evanston Police Department.
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“The situation was contained and there was no active threat to the school community,” Campbell wrote, making a “soft lockdown” — where exterior school doors are secured while students inside the building maintain normal classroom operations — unnecessary.
“There is no ongoing safety concern related to this incident,” he added.
Campbell said because the incident involves a juvenile student, no additional information or comment can be provided.
Evanston police Commander Chelsea Brown told Pioneer Press the weapon was discovered by high school personnel at approximately 10:24 a.m. Friday while conducting a theft investigation.
The backpack contained an unloaded Glock 48 handgun and a magazine with 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition, Brown clarified.
Administrators immediately notified Evanston police of the weapon and upon arrival, police detained the 17-year-old male student in whose backpack it was discovered, police said.
The juvenile student was taken to the Evanston Police Station for investigation following the incident and has since been charged by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office with “carrying or possessing a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon,” Brown said.
He was then taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center on Friday afternoon, according to Brown. As of Monday, it remained unclear whether the student has been released from custody.
This is not the first instance of a gun being discovered on ETHS’ campus, per previous reporting.
Administrators placed students on a lockdown in December 2021 after two loaded handguns were found inside the school.
The lockdown brought police officers from neighboring suburbs and Northwestern University to campus, in addition to overhead helicopter surveillance, per previous reports.
A little over a year later, in February 2023, a 14-year-old student was referred to juvenile court after ETHS officials learned he allegedly posted a picture of himself online with a gun and captioned the image, “can’t wait 4 eths 2 blow up,” according to prior Pioneer Press reporting.
Officials later discovered the handgun was a fake prop gun taken from an English classroom that was being used to teach a lesson about “Romeo and Juliet.”