Allen High School student admits loading a gun into a building

The 14-year-old student who brought a loaded semi-automatic handgun inside Allen High School last week was committed to a juvenile facility after a hearing on Thursday, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said. .

The teenager, whose name has not been released due to his age, has been charged with carrying a firearm without a licence, a felony; and two misdemeanors, possession of a firearm by a minor and possession of a weapon on school property.

The teenager admitted the charges and was declared a delinquent, the office said in a statement.

Allentown police were dispatched September 15 to West Park on Linden Street for reports of gunshots and a person with a weapon. An adult witness said several boys were seen running towards Allen, and one of them had an ankle monitor.

A resource officer at the Allentown Police Academy in Allen heard the report and contacted the juvenile probation office, who were able to use GPS data from the student’s ankle monitor to determine that he was in West Park at the time of the incident, then find the student in the school building.

The incident led to a lockdown at Allen and several nearby schools, as well as confusion and apprehension among teachers and staff who received information from the district that conflicted with a police press release about the incident.

Staff said the lack of communication about what happened left them confused and in danger. District and Allentown police did not clarify those discrepancies when contacted by a Morning Call reporter on Tuesday.

District Attorney Jim Martin’s office clarified the events in a press release Wednesday, saying only one person was arrested, not two people as mentioned in an email sent to Allen staff by Principal Cheryl Clark on lockdown day.