School City of Hammond officials said elementary students discovered a handgun on a school bus Tuesday, which they said was left on a previous route by a Hammond Central High School student.
The students gave the gun to the bus driver who secured it, according to a release from the district.
The driver contacted dispatch and immediately returned to the school. Hammond police responded quickly to the scene.
No students were harmed or injured during the incident and the weapon was not discharged.
Police confiscated the gun and video footage from the bus led to the identification of a primary suspect, who wasn’t identified.
School officials said parents should remind their children that unattended firearms should never be picked up. Instead, the location should be reported to the nearest adult.
Officials, who thanked the students who turned in the gun, warned picking up a firearm could result in an accidental discharge and injury.
Bringing a deadly weapon on school property, including a bus, calls for a one-year expulsion and referral to law enforcement for possible prosecution.
Last month, a 16-year-old Dolton, Illinois, teen was charged as adult after bringing a gun into Hammond Central High School on Jan. 31.
He was charged with unlawful carrying of a handgun, a Level 5 felony.
Officials said the teen was a School City of Hammond student, but didn’t attend Hammond Central.
Officials said the teen brought the gun into the school in a backpack after another student opened a side door for him.
A teacher spotted the teen entering the side door and alerted security.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
