Student arrested after allegedly bringing gun to school

JACKSON, Tenn. — New information has been released about a local student who was arrested.

Greg Hammond, the Chief of Staff and Public Information for the Jackson-Madison County School System, confirmed Thursday a student at Liberty Technology Magnet High School was arrested last week after allegedly bringing a gun to school.

“On Wednesday, April 7, 2021, a student was suspended from Liberty Tech High School for fighting. He returned to school on Thursday, April 8, but he was still on suspension. Liberty’s assistant principal, [Donald Hornbuckle], was aware that the student had been suspended. He spotted the student in the hallway, and escorted the student to the office,” Hammond said.

After calling the student’s parents, the student was sent home. Shortly after, school administrators received word from a principal at a different school.

“One of that principal’s students had shared with them a picture that had been posted on social media, of the student in question, displaying a gun. The picture had been taken in the Liberty boy’s bathroom,” Hammond said.

Officials were able to confirm the student’s identity and notified police, who then searched the student’s home and found the weapon.

“The student was arrested and transported to the Juvenile Detention Center, and a disciplinary hearing is scheduled to be held,” Hammond said.

Hammond says vigilance and good leadership were essential, and integrity on a student’s part.

“Yes, there was a student who used bad judgement, but on the flipside of that, you had a student who was making good judgement and communicated with their administrator that they saw something that was wrong,” Hammond said.

The incident remains under investigation.