By Pat Hammert/Staff Writer

A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody Thursday morning after police and school officials found a shotgun in his vehicle parked in the high school parking lot.

The hunting gun was not loaded but unused shotgun shells were nearby in the vehicle, Police Chief Fred Savage said.

Not identified because of his age, the El Reno High School student was booked at the police station and taken to Gary E. Miller Canadian County Children’s Justice Center. Savage said he will be arraigned in juvenile court as soon as possible.

“Any time there are guns on school property, we have a no-tolerance policy,” Savage said. “But he’ll probably be released to his parents.”

Superintendent Jeff Mills said the youth was suspended from school immediately. A suspension hearing is scheduled Monday. He would not speculate on the outcome.

“We have to follow the law and it is a federal law that has to do with weapons at school and right now we’re trying to determine what those guidelines are,” Mills said.

He said the student had been duck hunting during the week and had left the gun in his vehicle.

Savage said the boy had been questioned earlier about an incident in the school parking lot when a dead duck was being thrown around. During the questioning the youth voluntarily mentioned his hunting gun was in his vehicle.

“He wasn’t trying to hide anything,” Savage said.