Gun Found At Richards High School, Student Arrested: Police

OAK LAWN, IL — Following a year of security concerns, a student showed up at Richards High School Friday morning with a gun, school officials said.

Richards was placed under a shelter-in-place order Friday morning when it was reported that a student might have a weapon. Extra Oak Lawn police officers were at the scene when a gun was found. Earlier, school officials believed reports of a weapon to be false.

Principal Mike Jacobson told parents in an email that the student was arrested, and will no longer attend Richards High School. Such expulsions need to be approved by the CHSD 218 school board.

Stating that “days like today are really hard,” Jacobson credited the school’s security protocols that found and quickly identified the student, who was subsequently arrested.

“I wanted to let everyone know we have no reason to believe this was anything other than an isolated incident,” Jacobson said is his email. “As of this point in the investigation, we and the police feel this is contained. At no time was there a threat directed to the school, staff or students.”

A vigilant staff member saw something and reported the presence of a possible weapon to administrators.

“As of this point in the investigation, we and the police feel this is contained. At no time was there a threat directed to the school, staff or students,” Jacobson said. “Thank goodness this was the case.”

Jacobson said the high school is planning to increase random searches. Students may be asked to open book bags or be scanned with a wand. In some instances, entire classrooms may be searched.

I feel it is prudent for us to further enhance our proactive response,” the principal said. “We are doing this so each and every student knows we will find any weapons they may bring into this building.”

The high school plans to form a committee comprised of parents and staff, which will meet regularly to continue to discuss additional security practices Richards can implement. Parents interested in serving on the committee can contact Jacobson at mike.jacobson@chsd218.org.

“My friends, emails like this are tough to send, but tougher still to receive,” Jacobson added. “But I always said I would share everything I legally can with the parents. While this information is disheartening, it is not something we will ignore. We will not shrink for the challenge of keeping weapons out of this school. Instead, we will redouble our efforts. I look forward to working with you to ensure Richards remains a safe place to learn.”

It is not known if the student is male or female, nor what the student is being charged with. Oak Lawn police could not immediately be reached for comment, but did tell Patch earlier Friday that the high school had been secured.