RAVENNA, Ohio — Two 16-year-olds were arrested Tuesday after a report that a student at Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna had brandished a handgun earlier in the day.
Police responded to the school after staff received reports that a student had brandished a handgun earlier in the day, but by that time, the students had all left for the day, according to a news release from police.
Police and Maplewood staff reviewed surveillance video and gathered information on suspects and witnesses.
As a result of the investigation, two students were arrested and incarcerated at Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Center, police said. Both students were charged with misdemeanor counts of inducing panic and carrying a concealed weapon, as well as felony counts of illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon, and illegal possession of of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone.
“During the investigation of this incident, the Ravenna Police Department did not uncover evidence that the firearm was brought into the District with the intent to do harm to others,” Superintendent Randy Griffith said in a letter to parents Wednesday morning. “However, a student in possession of a firearm in a school setting poses a threat to their safety as well as the safety of visitors, customers, staff, and students.”
Griffith said that because the threats that prompted the investigation have been eliminated, Maplewood Career Center would remain open on Wednesday, but said that parents that want to keep their child home can have them excused by calling the attendance secretary.
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