Twinsburg - Additional officers were sent to Twinsburg High School due to a reported rumor of a possible fight circulating around social media at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday.
While surveying the area, an officer saw two teens on the service driveway between the Fitness Center and the high school and believed they should not have been there.
Chief Christopher Noga said the officer approached the teens and asked what they were doing. The 17-year-old boy told the officer that he was not supposed to be on school property because he was previously expelled, but he needed a ride home. A pat-down search was then carried out and led to a loaded .380 caliber pistol being found in the teen's coat jacket, along with a small amount of marijuana.
The report states a small amount of marijuana was also found on the teen present, a current 16-year-old Twinsburg High student.
Chief Noga issued the following statement via the Department's Facebook page:
This afternoon at approximately 2:00 PM, we increased our presence at Twinsburg High School due to a rumor of a possible fight that was circulated via social media and reported to us. While in the area, an officer observed two juveniles on the service driveway between the Fitness Center and the high school and he had reason to believe that those juveniles should not be where they were. He approached the juveniles and asked them what they were doing. One juvenile replied that he was not supposed to be on school property because he had been expelled previously but he needed a ride home. Based on his statement that he wasn't supposed to be on school property, officers conducted a pat-down search of him and found a loaded .380 caliber pistol in his coat pocket as well as a small amount of marijuana. A small amount of marijuana was found on the other juvenile as well. Both juveniles were arrested without incident.
The 17 year old juvenile possessing the handgun currently lives in Hudson. The juvenile was charged with illegal conveyance of a firearm into a school safety zone, a felony of the fifth degree; criminal trespass, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree; and possession of marijuana, a minor misdemeanor and transported to the Summit County Juvenile Detention Facility. The other juvenile, a 16 year old THS student was charged with possession of marijuana, a minor misdemeanor and released to a relative.
I want to assure the community that there was no direct threat of ANY kind to Twinsburg High School today. The presence of these two juveniles on school grounds at the time police presence was increased due to the social media rumor was purely coincidental. Simply, an observant officer noticed two juveniles that he thought did not belong on school property and took immediate action. The safety of our students is of utmost importance to the Twinsburg Police Department and we will always take the necessary steps to ensure that safety.
This is also a good time to remind our community that the use of social media to speculate or spread rumors is just wrong. I'm incredibly disappointed in the inaccurate information I have been told is currently spreading on social media as I write this. For those who posted without knowing any of the facts, you have done nothing more than create panic in our community. I understand that you want to know as much as you can as soon as you can but the speed at which people want information today has become so quick that releasing accurate information is becoming more and more challenging. Our community has always trusted my leadership and judgment when it comes to releasing what information I can when I can. To do that requires time to ensure accurate information is released. I would rather take a little extra time to make sure you have the accurate facts rather than release incomplete information more quickly. Now you have accurate information a little over 2 1/2 hours after the incident occurred. I call on each of you to really think before you post something you are not sure is even remotely accurate.
Chief Noga said the 17-year-old, who currently lives in Hudson, was charged with illegal conveyance of a firearm into a school safety zone, criminal trespass, and possession of marijuana, and was transported to the Summit County Juvenile Detention Facility.
The 16-year-old was charged with possession of marijuana and released to a relative.
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