High School Remains Closed as West G Investigation Continues
Student Arrested for Possession of a Firearm Remains in Police Custody
West Geauga High School was put on lockdown Monday after an 18-year-old student was found to be in possession of a firearm.
West Geauga High School is remaining closed today as school officials continue to work with law enforcement in their investigation of an 18-year-old student who brought a firearm to school Monday.
According to an emergency alert sent out to parents at about 10 a.m. April 3, the student was taken into custody by the Chester Township Police Department.
“There is an elevated police presence in our schools. No threats have been made against any of our buildings,” said Superintendent Richard Markwardt in the email to parents.
Out of an abundance of caution, West Geauga High School students were dismissed for the duration of the day and at about 8:30 p.m., Superintendent Richard Markwardt sent another email to parents to tell them the school would remained closed April 4.
“Thank you again for your cooperation today,” he wrote. “We greatly appreciate your support.”
Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young said April 3 they received the call about the student at 9:30 a.m. and he was immediately detained at the school and is currently in the custody of his department’s detective bureau.
“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.”
Young said officers conducted two security sweeps of the building to make sure the school was safe after conducting a well-coordinated release of students.
“For not having worked with other agencies, it absolutely went as good as it could have possibly gone,” Young said, adding school faculty and staff members handled the situation well.
Young said the investigation is in the initial stages and the individual will be charged appropriately.
“We’re really just trying to determine everything we can about the events leading up to this and once we gain all that information, we will really be able to put together what exactly occurred,” the chief said.
Markwardt thanked the school administration and staff for keeping the students safe and calm in a letter updating parents on the situation April 3.
“I also want to thank our high school students for their exemplary behavior. They are a credit to their families and their school,” Markwardt said. “Last, but certainly not least, I want to express my deep gratitude to the local law enforcement agencies: the Chester Police Department, the Russell Police Department and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, for their immediate response and heavy police presence.”
Markwardt said the vigilance of a student brought the matter to the attention of administrators, who immediately involved law enforcement, isolated the student found to possess the concealed firearm and interviewed others who might have had some knowledge of the matter.
“The student who had the firearm is now in police custody as the investigation progresses. West Geauga Middle School was placed on shelter-in-place status this morning as a precaution and police presence was elevated at West Geauga Middle School and both elementary schools. However, there was no perceived threat to any of those buildings,” Markwardt reiterated.
