Both the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and Mercer County School District confirming that an unloaded handgun was removed from a student’s locker at Mercer County Junior High School in Joy earlier today. The weapon was discovered during a routine search and a sheriff’s department press release says the gun was not displayed. The student was taken into custody and is being detained prior to his first court appearance. An all-school call by Unit 404 superintendent Scott Petrie alerted parents to the situation this afternoon. He indicated “no students were threatened at any time.” The district’s 7th and 8th grade students attend Mercer County Jr. High.
