SISSONVILLE, W.Va. — Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputies have a 15-year-old boy in custody for trespassing onto Sissonville High School.
Deputies were dispatched to the school at around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday morning for a call of a suspicious person reported on campus. An initial report also said the person was possibly armed with a firearm.
The Sissonville Resource Officer was immediately notified of the situation and the school was placed on lock-down. The situation also forced nearby schools to go under a lock-down.
Surveillance cameras confirmed that a 15-year-old male, who now attends Chandler Academy School had entered the common areas without permission. The boy was a former Sissonville student.
Parents, Students, and Fellow Community Members:
This morning I received a report that a former student had gained unauthorized access to the building and was in a restroom. When I investigated the situation the intruder was not in the restroom. I put the school on a…
— Sissonville High School (@Sissonville_HS) September 13, 2023
Several searches were conducted inside the school. Deputies were at the school within six minutes of getting the call and quickly started a sweep through the school for the boy. A student notified school personnel of the former students’ location, which led deputies to inside a classroom.
Deputies located the former student and found him to not be in possession of any firearms. Authorities conducted interviews with the former student once a guardian had arrived.
Kanawha County Chief Deputy Joe Crawford said the boy is facing at least two charges.
“The charges will be trespassing on school property and disrupting school process,” Crawford said.
Sissonville High School and surrounding schools lifted their lock-down and classes resumed. Students were given the option to leave school with an excused absence.
No students or staff were injured or harmed in the incident. No firearms were found either and there is no evidence that the former student ever had a firearm in his possession, according to Crawford.
“We did not locate any weapon during the searches,” Crawford said. “Fortunately, this was a situation where no one was hurt.”
West Virginia State Police and the FBI assisted Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputies in the case.
Crawford commended the work of law enforcement and school officials of Sissonville for their work throughout the situation.