UPDATE | Boardman High youth, 17, accused of having gun on bus

BOARDMAN

A Boardman High School student was arrested Wednesday after police said he brought an unloaded gun on the school bus.

According to police reports, a student on the bus ride home with Kamar McCord, 17, told police that McCord showed the gun to another student and said, “They wouldn’t find [the gun] unless they had a drug dog. I’ll shoot up the bus.”

Superintendent Tim Saxton said he does not know if McCord brought the gun into the school building. The building is not equipped with metal detectors.

“Kids know best. If we teach them to, if they see something, say something, it will be reported quicker than any technology we could buy,” said Saxton.

After speaking with the student who reported the incident, police, including school resource officer Paul Poulos, located McCord at the public library on Market Street and Midlothian Boulevard. When searching McCord’s backpack at his home, they discovered a pistol inside. No ammunition was located inside the bag.

McCord was arrested on charges of possession of a defaced firearm and illegal possession of a a deadly weapon in a school safety zone.

A news release from Boardman Local Schools states a suspension and expulsion is pending, and that the teen is in the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center.

In his response to the incident, Saxton focused on what worked, namely, the student resource officer’s strong relationships with students.

“It was solved quickly because of the relationships [Poulos] invested in,” said Saxton.

Parents were informed about the incident via a phone call from Principal Cindy Fernback Thursday morning.

The call specifically asked parents not to post to social media about the incident, said Donielle Fox, who has two daughters at Boardman schools.

“I want our school to be safe. I expect one or two points of entry, metal detectors, maybe a parent safety committee ... We need to prevent it because next time we could be national news,” said Fox.