Moses Lake students found with firearms at high school

No threats made, two students arrested

MOSES LAKE - Two Moses Lake teenagers were arrested after two stolen firearms were located in a student vehicle at Moses Lake High School Tuesday morning.

A student resource officer made contact with a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male in the vehicle due to a truancy complaint after school was in session, Capt. Dave Ruffin said Wednesday. A shotgun, pistol and at least one knife were located. The firearms were not loaded.

Ruffin said there were no indications the firearms were going to be used at the school.

The firearms were reported stolen from a vehicle parked on Linden Avenue in Moses Lake Aug. 19, he said.

The 16-year-old and 17-year-old were each arrested for vehicle prowl, theft of firearms and possession of weapons on school grounds. They were booked at the Grant County Juvenile Justice Center.

Moses Lake School District personnel are in the process of contacting student parents to inform them about the situation through their automated call system. Each student's parent is called and message containing details about the incident is played.

"Whenever something like this happens, we want parents to know what happened," said Special Assistant to the Superintendent P.J. De Benedetti.

He said there was no immediate threat from the students. There was no indication they were going to use them at the school. It appeared the firearms were being stored in the vehicle from the original theft, he said.

Neither of the students are in school due to the incident, according to De Benedetti. Regular protocol allows the school district to impose emergency expulsion for both students due to the firearms being on school property. Their expulsion allows the school district time to determine punishment.

Once it's determined who was in possession of the firearms, at least one of the students will get a one-year expulsion from school as required by Washington state law, De Benedetti said.

Both students have complied with the investigation, he added.