(UPDATE) West G Student Planned to Shoot Multiple Students
9mm Smith and Wesson Handgun and Three Magazines Found in Student's Backpack
The 18-year-old West Geauga High School student who was arrested for possession of a firearm April 3 has been identified as Brandon Morrissette.
This breaking story will be updated as additional information becomes available.
The 18-year-old West Geauga High School student who was arrested for possession of a firearm planned to shoot multiple students at the school, according to the complaint filed in Chardon Municipal Court on April 4.
Brandon Michael Morrissette, 18, an open-enrollment student from Lyndhurst, has been charged with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone, a fifth-degree felony; and inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.
He currently is being held in an area psychiatric unit, according to a source familiar with the investigation and arrest.
According to the complaint, a tip was received regarding a 9mm bullet that was found in a men’s bathroom at West Geauga High School.
“Upon further investigation, the backpack of Brandon Morrissette was searched finding a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun. Three fully loaded magazines were found with the firearm,” the complaint states. “Through subsequent interviews with Morrissette, it was learned that he had devised a plan to shoot multiple students at West Geauga High School.”
Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young said Wednesday after the student told School Resource Officer Nick Iacampo about finding the bullet, Iacampo reviewed videotape and identified Morrissette as a student who had entered the bathroom that morning.
Working with Iacampo, Vice Principal Victor Puskas conducted a search of Morrissette’s locker and backpack and found a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun, Young said, adding at that time, police were called around 9:30 a.m.
Morrissette was taken into police custody and, out of an abundance of caution, West Geauga High School students were dismissed for the duration of the day. Young said West Geauga Schools Superintendent Richard Markwardt ultimately made the decision to lockdown the school, but law enforcement was on site and involved in those discussions. Young called the decision to lockdown the school one of the most important decision in terms of the investigation.
“We really looked into every component, every friend he had and we can’t determine there’s anyone else involved. There was no actual threat made to anyone at the school,” Young said. “At that point, a determination was made that we were going to place the school on lockdown.”
Officers conducted two security sweeps of the building to make sure the school was safe after conducting a well-coordinated release of students.
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz declined to comment on the case at this time.
Chester resident April Orloski, who said her son was the student who found a bullet in the high school bathroom Monday morning, criticized the district’s response to the situation during the West Geauga Schools Board of Education meeting April 3.
“As with every parent here tonight, I had many questions regarding the procedures that took place today. In the sequence of events, as I was told them, my (son) found a bullet halfway through first period. He alerted the resource officer and the office staff as he was supposed to do,” Orloski said. “My (son) was then sent back to the class and informed his teacher why he was gone for so long … which the entire class, including the student with the gun, overheard — making my child a target.”
Orloski said her son was pulled back out of class to answer more questions and then again sent back to class.
“The shelter-in-place did not occur until halfway through the third period, almost two complete periods later. Why was my child sent back to class after finding the bullet, making him a target,” she asked the board. “What if the student with the gun had an accomplice who was not in that classroom and was notified of my son’s discovery?”
In a follow-up interview, Young said law enforcement was not initially aware of the identity of the student who left the bullet in the restroom and determining the student’s identity was part of an investigative process.
“Just because you find something in a bathroom doesn’t mean you immediately know who that person is. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy,” Young said. “It is impossible for law enforcement to just know who left an item until they investigate who was actually in and out of the bathroom. We have to investigate that appropriately, meaning there’s a lot of work that goes into determining who could have left an item such as that.”
