Indiana School Protection Officer Fired After Leaving Gun in Bathroom
The gun that was left in the school bathroom was discovered by a student.
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VIGO COUNTY, Ind. – A school protection officer (SPO) who worked for the Vigo County School Corp. no longer works for the school district after leaving his gun in a bathroom at Honey Creek Middle School.
The officer’s gun was found by a student on Wednesday, reports WTWO. The SPO removed his firearm, which was inside its holster, to use the restroom.
“At no point did a student handle or have possession of the gun and it never left the restroom,” Honey Creek Principal Trina McDonald said in a letter to parents. “I praise the student who immediately reported seeing the gun, that student did everything correctly.”
Security, Police Officers Have Left Guns in Bathrooms at Other Schools
The unattended gun incident in Indiana is just the latest time when a law enforcement officer, armed security officer, armed administrator, or parent left their gun in a school bathroom or other K-12 campus location.
In December, a school resource officer left her gun in a bathroom at Kirby Middle School in Memphis, Tenn. The gun was found by a student who picked it up and took it off campus. There haven’t been any reports indicating the missing firearm has been recovered.
Also in December, a gun was found in a restroom at Hidden Valley Middle School in Roanoke, Va., during a basketball game, reports WDBJ. The firearm was discovered by an adult and belonged to an off-duty Roanoke County Police officer who was attending the game and left the gun unattended after using the bathroom.
In Manorville, N.Y., an off-duty member of the Suffolk County Police Department left his gun in a bathroom at Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School, reports PIX11. The firearm was discovered by a custodian, who immediately notified building security. The officer who left his gun unattended was the parent of a student who attends the school.
Earlier this month, a Bryan Independent School District (Bryan ISD) security officer at Johnson Elementary School in Texas left their gun and holster in a nurse’s bathroom. The duty belt was discovered by a staff member and was not touched by a student. The officer was terminated.
The Bryan ISD incident follows two similar incidents at Fort Bend (Texas) ISD schools that happened in January and February.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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