Wichita police arrest girl on school bus with stolen, loaded gun in her backpack

Wichita police arrested a teenage girl on a school bus Wednesday morning after she was suspected of stealing a loaded gun.

Police were called at around 7:10 a.m. after a 38-year-old parent reported her handgun missing, Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release. The mother said she suspected her daughter may have taken her gun with her onto a school bus.

In a message sent to parents, Wichita East High School principal Sara Richardson said the First Student bus was pulled over before it reached the school.

Officers found the child, a 16-year-old girl, on a bus at Maple and Glenn with a loaded gun in her backpack, Davidson said. She was arrested without further incident.

The girl was booked into the juvenile detention center on suspicion of criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile and theft, police said.

No threats were made to any students, no school was disrupted and no injuries were reported, police said.

This story was originally published March 27, 2019 at 3:53 PM.