Centralia Police Department talk about securing guns

According to Centralia Police Department, the 15-year-old student taken into custody Friday on suspicion of bringing a gun and more than 20 rounds of ammunition to Centralia High school had sneaked into his girlfriend’s house and stole the weapon from her parents.

Officials said, according to the parents, they weren’t home at the time the gun was stolen and did not let the 15-year-old inside their home.

Centralia police Sgt. Joe Bellamy said the parents of the girl immediately went to the police station about the stolen weapon, and it’s unfortunate that the gun was not locked in a secure place.

If the student had harmed someone, police said people would wonder who would be responsible. According to Bellamy, the girl’s parents could have faced serious repercussions but learning the 15-year-old had not been allowed in their home, changes a lot.

Bellamy said for those who do carry guns, it’s crucial that adults educate their children. It is the law to be responsible for your children but it’s not the law to have a gun in a secure place.

“It was not, what I would call secure. It was with the ammo in a nightstand in the bedroom. There was no lock, no key. It was concealed but not secure,” Bellamy said.

MarKay Right, a Centralia resident tells ABC 17 News her husband educated their grandkids about guns and safety, and that discipline is what these children need.

“More discipline at home, is what’s going to get it,” Right said.

Centralia High School is closed Monday for Presidents Day and there is no telling how the day will unfold for students when they return to school Tuesday

One student told ABC 17 News, administrators went class to class making sure all students were OK.

Should students need counseling, the superintendent told ABC 17 News at Friday’s press conference that it will be available.