Megan Raposa

mraposa@argusleader.com

Police confirmed Friday that a stolen handgun found in a Lincoln High School student's backpack was loaded.

A 16-year-old student was arrested Thursday morning after a suspicious activity report led police and school administrators to find the weapon concealed in his backpack.

The reporting student alerted a teacher, who told the suspect to go back to class, police spokesman Sam Clemens said. The 16-year-old then ran from the school. He was quickly found by a school resource officer about a block away and brought back to the school's office.

Lincoln High student arrested with stolen gun, police say

School administrators and resource officers believed the student may have been under the influence, which led them to search his backpack, Clemens said. They found a 9mm loaded handgun with an altered serial number.

The gun had been stolen from an unlocked car in the area of West 12th Street and La Mesa Drive on Oct. 12, 2015. Police do not know who stole the gun from the vehicle or how the student got it, Clemens said.

The 16-year-old was charged with having a firearm on school grounds, possession of stolen property, possession of firearm with altered serial number and possession of a concealed weapon, Clemens said. He was taken to the juvenile detention center after his arrest shortly before noon Thursday.

His name will not be released, and Superintendent Brian Maher said Thursday that the student will be expelled for a year per South Dakota state law.

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