Loudoun Woman Arrested After Loaded Handgun Found On Manassas Park School Grounds: Police

STERLING, VA – A Loudoun County woman has been arrested after a loaded handgun was found on Manassas Park school property Monday morning, causing the district to close all its schools before classes began.

Veronica Gooch-Ray of Potomac Falls, who teaches art at Manassas Park High School, was arrested in connection with the incident, the City of Manassas Park Police Department announced Monday afternoon. The department says there is no ongoing threat to the community.

Police did not say what charges Gooch-Ray is facing.

According to a statement issued by the school district Monday morning, a loaded handgun was found by a Manassas Park City Schools transportation employee in the Manassas Park Middle School parking lot at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday. The weapon was found between two school division vans during a morning safety check.

According to the school district, the Manassas Park Police Department was immediately notified when the weapon was spotted. It was the police department that determined that the gun was loaded.

The district also alerted residents that all schools would be closed.

An alert posted on the school district's website says the schools were closed out of an abundance of caution and to give Manassas Park police time to investigate the situation.

The school district thanked the transportation employee who found and reported the weapon.

The Manassas Park City School District encompasses four schools: two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.