MUNCIE, Ind. (WTHR) Ý When an armed student headed to Muncie Central High School Wednesday afternoon, five police resource officers were looking for him.
But students were never warned of a threat that was just across the street and no one sounded the alarm to lock down the building.
When police caught up with the 15-year-old, they confiscated a loaded handgun.
Muncie School CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski told Eyewitness News, "Our students were very safe."
She said exterior doors were already locked. Students were in their classrooms when two school police resource officers went out to confront the student and three others remained in the building.
The situation, Kwiatkowski said, "...developed so quickly and was over in minutes."
According to Kwiatkowski, the incident demonstrated the importance of resource officers. In addition to keeping students in line, it is their job to build relationships and earn students' trust, so when something is about to go wrong, they alert a teacher or an officer before anyone gets hurt.
"It was a very serious incident," said Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman. "We are very thankful Muncie intervened to prevent a tragedy from happening."
The student left school earlier in the day and apparently told someone he would be back. That someone tipped off two of the school's resource officers.
Within minutes, they had the 15-year-old under arrest. That crucial tip came from outside the school.
"Someone saw or heard something," Hoffman said, agreeing that the tip potentially saved lives.
Hoffman would not discuss details about the teenager's intentions, motive, threats or statements he might have made. Police are still gathering evidence and Hoffman has many questions.
"How did this 15-year-old get hold of a firearm?" he asked. "That bothers me quite a bit. No 15-year-old in this community or any other community should have a firearm."
Hoffman has not decided whether he will try to have the juvenile tried as an adult and move the case to criminal court, where the possible penalties are more severe.
The crime, he explained, comes with two lessons.
"Number one, keep guns away from juveniles," he said. "Number two, if you see something, say something. Tell a teacher, tell a principal, tell a resource officer. It's important. You just might save a life."