Loaded handgun discovered  in Aurora middle school locker

• Reprints

Updated: March 6, 2012 8:17AM

AURORA — A 13-year-old Waldo Middle School student is facing felony charges after allegedly bringing a loaded handgun to the school Friday morning.

Aurora police were called to Waldo Middle School, 56 Jackson St., at around 10 a.m. and learned that the seventh-grade student was apparently overheard by another student bragging that he had brought a gun to school.

The student who overheard the conversation notified school administrators, who pulled the suspect out of class. After questioning the teen, police searched his locker and found the weapon, a loaded .357 handgun.

The school was put on lockdown as police conducted their search.

Police said the boy apparently had no plans to use the gun, was not involved in gang activity, was not being threatened, and did not have any police contacts.

He brought the weapon to school simply to show it off to other students, police said.

“We talked to the student, and he had no ill intent,” said East Aurora School District spokesman Clayton Muhammad. “It was a foolish decision he made. There was no intent of usage.”

Police are still investigating where the gun came from and how it came into the boy’s possession.

The boy was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and taken to the Kane County Youth Home in St. Charles Township. He will appear before a judge on Monday for a hearing.