BENTONVILLE — A high school student was arrested Friday after having a handgun at the school earlier in the week, said Lt. Jon Simpson of the Bentonville Police Department.
Alfonso Solano, 18, of Centerton, was being held Friday in the Benton County Jail with no bond set.
The gun was not brandished, Simpson said.
Simpson said an investigation was continuing Friday, and he was not prepared to release further details.
Kim Garrett, principal of the school, said in a letter to parents no students were at risk.
Three students were involved, according to her letter. One student brought the gun to school, another student took the gun to a house for safekeeping, and a third student bought the gun, took it to his car on campus and went home, Garrett said in the letter.
The gun was at the school for about 15 minutes, she stated. The gun wasn’t loaded, and none of the students had ammunition, she said.
Nevertheless, Garrett said all the students would face the maximum school discipline along with criminal charges.
The district’s handbook states the maximum penalty for students possessing a handgun on school property is expulsion, Garrett said.
Garrett said the school was not put into lockdown because it received the information at the end of the day after buses had left. She added the student in possession of the gun was located only a few moments after the school learned of the incident.
“We immediately found him,” Garrett said. “He was completely searched and he did not have the gun.”