Airsoft Gun Brought To Oswego Elementary School: Principal

OSWEGO, IL — For the second time in a week, Community Unit School District 308 officials said a student brought an airsoft gun onto school property, as well as a school bus. This time it happened at Southbury Elementary School, 820 Preston Lane, according to a note sent to parents by Principal Samantha Sinovich on Wednesday afternoon. The incident was discovered after school hours, a District 308 spokesperson said.

In the letter, Sinovich said a student brought a "a plastic airsoft bb gun with an orange tip" onto a school bus, and onto school property.

"When staff received the report, it was taken very seriously and immediate steps were put in place to investigate and address the situation," the letter sent to parents said. "We thank you for reminding your children of the school and district behavior expectations and responsibilities, as well as to tell an adult if they see something that is not safe or could harm someone."

District 308 spokeswoman Theresa Komitas said the report of a "toy gun" on a school bus was made to an administrator and did not occur during school hours.

"The staff and administrators investigated with the student and their parent and reviewed bus video," Komitas said in an email to Patch, saying the discovery was made after school hours and that the airsoft gun was not seen by any staff inside the school.

"The footage shows it in the student’s possession after school on the bus, meaning he had it during the day at school since he arrived on the bus that morning," Komitas said.

"The plastic B.B. gun was not ever seen in person by staff, and was not brought back to the school," she said in an email, adding that "the school is handling the situation and any resulting consequences."

Oswego police said the district did not report the Southbury incident to them, and that they were unaware of any lockdown on the campus. "They did not involve us," spokeswoman Cathy Nevara said Wednesday afternoon.

That was a different outcome than last Thursday, when a lockdown was implemented at Oswego High School amid a report of a student with a weapon. In that incident, school officials said police secured the weapon — another plastic airsoft gun — after it was found in a student's backpack in a locker.

The discovery led to the arrest of a 17-year-old former student after he was in the building "under false pretenses," Oswego police said. The teen was charged with unauthorized possession of a weapon.

Photo via District 308