Smithtown West student, 16, charged after gun and bullets found in backpack

A 911 caller reported the teen had posted a photo of himself with a gun on social media

Smithtown West High School student brought a gun, knife and bullets inside his backpack to school on Tuesday, police and school officials said.

Cops went to the school at 100 Central Road in Smithtown after a 911 caller reported that a student had posted a picture with a gun on social media, police said.

School staff searched the student’s backpack about 1:55 p.m., shortly before dismissal, and found the weapons, according to police.

Smithtown Superintendent Mark Secaur said in a letter to the school community that administrators learned of the post while looking into a reported conflict between two students. A Smithtown student tipped off the school, Secaur said, and administrators called police.

The search turned up an unloaded handgun and bullets, and the student was arrested, Secaur wrote.

The district is still investigating but is “not aware of any specific threat” the student made against classmates, staff, the school or the district, he said.

The teen faces a bevy of charges, including second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for having a loaded firearm on school grounds and criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds. Under New York law, a gun counts as loaded when the person carrying it also has ammunition that can be fired from it.

Due to his young age, police did not release the boy’s name.

The student will also face discipline under the district’s code of conduct, Secaur said. He cited the ongoing investigation and student privacy in declining to share more details.

“The presence of a weapon in our schools is deeply concerning,” Secaur wrote, adding that the district recognizes the “fear and uneasiness” the incident may cause. He credited the student who reported the post for following the “see something, say something” rule.

Parents were frightened and angered that the student was able to carry and conceal a gun and ammunition on school property (see the report below).

The student was scheduled to appear Wednesday as an adolescent offender in the Youth Part of Suffolk First District Court in Central Islip. Under New York’s Raise the Age law, 16- and 17-year-olds charged with certain felonies have their cases heard in a court’s Youth Part.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to call Suffolk Police’s Fourth Squad at 631.854.8451. Anonymous tips can go to Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1.800.220.TIPS, through the P3 Tips app, or at P3Tips.com.

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_{Top: Smithtown Superintendent Mark Secaur told families in a letter that school staff found an unloaded handgun and bullets in a Smithtown West student’s backpack Tuesday. (Photo: Google Maps Street View).}