DELAWARE-- A 17-year-old student at Indian River High School was arrested earlier this month after officials found weapons in his possession, and some parents are outraged over how the school handled the situation.
According to Delaware State Police, authorities were "alerted that a 17-year-old student was in possession of a handgun. Through investigative means it was found that suspect was in possession of a knife in his bookbag and a stolen 9 mm handgun in his vehicle parked in the schools parking lot."
The suspect was arrested and charged with two counts: possession of a weapon in a safe school zone and receiving a stolen firearm, police said. He was arraigned in Sussex County Family Court and released on $15,000 unsecured bond.
WRDE News asked the school district for surveillance video and they said no footage of the searches or of the arrest exists.Â
Bethany Adkins is just one of the parents who expressed to WRDE News how upset she was for having found out through a Facebook post of a potentially dangerous school threat.
"Nobody called and said anything, I saw a post on Facebook," she said.
Adkins is a mother of three. Her oldest son attends Sussex Central High School.
Indian River School District admitted they were "acting on a tip from a concerned parent," but insisted the school did leave an automated voice message to every students' household the morning of the incident.
The district told WRDE News they did not notify all parents from surrounding schools within the Indian River School District, only those who attended the high school where the incident took place.
That is why Adkins never received a phone call.
"No, they only told the people that called in to confront them about it," she said.
Adkins said only the parents who called demanding answers were told everything was under control.
The district told WRDE News they did not send out a press release either because DSP were the ones handling the situation. Furthermore, the district also said they were limited in the details they could provide to parents because the investigation was still active.
Police said no injuries to students or staff were reported in this case and an investigation remains ongoing. The 17-yar-old student was also suspended, pending the outcome of this investigation.
So far this year, the Indian River School District has seen about 10 cases involving the threat of gun violence, though not necessarily involving a gun, DSP said.