COLUMBUS, Ind. — Three juveniles were taken into custody after two windows were damaged at Columbus East High School and a stolen handgun was reportedly discharged inside a Columbus cemetery early Sunday morning.
Security camera footage captured images of several juveniles around Columbus East High School at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
One of the juveniles was filmed damaging a glass door at the school before fleeing on foot, Harris said. A second window was later located damaged at the school.
Columbus Police Department school resource officers and detectives were able to identify the juveniles and linked them to a theft of a firearm from a vehicle that occurred early Sunday morning on a street near Columbus East High School, Harris said. The officers determined that the stolen handgun was discharged while the juveniles were inside Garland Brook Cemetery. No injuries were reported.
The investigating officers later recovered the stolen handgun under a trash receptacle at an apartment complex near the school where it was collected for safekeeping, Harris said.
The three juveniles were transported to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center where they were remanded for the following offenses:
- 14-year old juvenile: Theft of a firearm (Level 6 Felony), possession of a handgun on school property (Level 6 melony), criminal recklessness with a firearm (Level 6 melony), unlawful entry of a vehicle (Class B misdemeanor), criminal mischief (Class A misdemeanor)
- 16-year-old juvenile: Theft of a firearm (Level 6 felony), Possession of a handgun on school property (Level 6 felony), criminal recklessness with a firearm (Level 6 felony), unlawful entry of a vehicle (Class B misdemeanor), criminal mischief (Class A misdemeanor)
- 16-year-old juvenile: Possession of a handgun without a license (Class A misdemeanor), theft of a handgun (Level 6 felony)
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
