Feb 29, 2008 By Josh Krysak 2 min read

The superintendent of West Greene School District said Thursday that she is confident a 14-year-old student who brought a gun to the school Wednesday did not intend to use the weapon – but did intend to sell it. State police took the teen into custody Wednesday afternoon after he was discovered with the handgun at Greene County Career and Technology Center in Franklin Township, Greene County.

“From what I have heard from police, they believe that he brought (the) gun to school to sell it,” said Superintendent Thelma Szarell. “I don’t feel that he had any intentions of using it.”

Police said the boy, who was not identified, was visiting the school when school officials found he had a 22-caliber revolver in his possession.

“The good thing is that the students noticed something out of the ordinary and as soon as they saw him with the gun they alerted teachers,” Szarell said, noting that staff at West Greene became aware of the situation while the boy was traveling by bus to the career and technology center. “I called the career center and alerted them that he had the gun with him at the school here and that he was en route. When he arrived the situation was handled.”

She said the incident took “only a matter of minutes” to resolve. “What could have been a potentially dangerous situation was averted because everyone acted very quickly,” Szarell said.

Troopers took the boy into custody without incident at the career and technology center on Zimmerman Road around 12:30 p.m. He was subsequently turned over to the Greene County Department of Juvenile Probation. Police said he was later remanded to the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center.

While Szarell said that while she cannot divulge the actions being taken by the district regarding the matter, she assured parents that appropriate measures are being taken.

“The situation is in hand,” Szarell said. “Everything is being addressed.”