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Student Arrested for Bringing Gun to School

EAST STROUDSBURG — A student was arrested for bringing a gun to school in Monroe County. Stroud Area Regional Police arrested the 18-year-old Friday morni...
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EAST STROUDSBURG -- A student was arrested for bringing a gun to school in Monroe County.

Stroud Area Regional Police arrested the 18-year-old Friday morning at East Stroudsburg South High School.

Police say the school received a tip Friday morning from a student and family member that a student inside East Stroudsburg South High School may have a weapon.

The school police officers located that student and a loaded revolver.

Authorities charged Shavelle Mills, 18, a junior at ESSHS, with having a gun with a scratched-off manufacturer's number, carrying a gun without a license, and having gun on school property.

"By the time we responded, they had already taken their police action and actually had secured that student and the firearm by the time we arrived," said Stroud Area Regional Police Chief William Parrish. "The gun was not drawn, pointed, or fired on school premises. The student has been handcuffed and has already been transported to our station for investigation and prosecution."

The school went into lockdown just before 8 a.m. and the district immediately notified parents. Many came rushing to pick up their kids, fearing the worst.

"The first thing I remember was now the shoot-out at the school, kids die and everything, and I don't want to see that with my son," said Ozicleide Lugo.

It's unclear why Mills brought the gun to school, where it came from, or if he planned on firing the weapon.

Even his own father didn't know. He talked with us but didn't want to show his face.

"I want to tell him that we love him and we are standing behind him, and no matter what, we know he's a good kid and things happen," Mills said.

Officers found the revolver in his backpack as soon as he arrived.

Students were worried that something bad happened.

"I was like, hopefully no one got hurt or killed," said tenth grader Daniel Noda.

"I was surprised; I can't say I was shocked because you know what? We prepare for these kinds of things," said East Stroudsburg Superintendent Sharon Laverdure.

According to court papers, Mills tried to flee before officers handcuffed him, and the gun had the manufacturers serial number altered and scratched off.

Parents were relieved when the lockdown ended around 9:30 a.m. and they could hug their kids.

"I knew he was OK, but very, very scary because you would never think it would happen in your own school," said parent Shirley Shears.

"Sandy Hook was a place where this wasn't going to happen. Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Pocono Mountain, and Pleasant Valley is a place where this isn't going to happen, but it does," said Chief Parrish.

Mills was out on bail for a prior robbery and firearms charge he faces in New York. He's locked up on $50,000 bail.

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