MILL CREEK — A student brought a loaded .45-caliber handgun into Tygarts Valley Middle/High School in his backpack Thursday, resulting in the student being taken into custody and later transported to a child care facility, authorities said.

Thursday morning, “Randolph County PRO deputies and (West Virginia State) troopers responded to a call that a student was bringing a firearm onto the bus and then onto TVHS.” Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon posted on social media Friday morning.

“The information came in the afternoon, toward the end of the school day, after the students had left for the day. An investigation into the incident was subsequently initiated by Sergeant Danny Pennington, Corporal Ethan Carr, and Deputy Rocky Hebb.

“The investigation revealed an area of ​​interest that was searched by State Police.” Elbon’s post stated. “An ongoing search resulted in the discovery of a loaded .45 caliber firearm in the backpack.

“A large number of statements were collected and a young person was detained late last evening. The teen was transported to an emergency detention hearing in Randolph County Circuit Court. Following the hearing, the teen was transported to a county juvenile facility by Deputy James Wolfe of the Sheriff’s Office.

Randolph County School Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly wrote in a social media post Friday morning. “We are deeply grateful to the students who stepped forward and to everyone who took swift action to protect the safety of our school community. Ensuring the well-being of our students and staff is our top priority and we will continue to work diligently to provide a safe learning environment.”

Elbon said police officers, school staff and students worked well together during the investigation.

“It is a big deal to have our PRO officers in schools” Elbon told The Inter-Mountain on Friday afternoon. “At the end of the day the men were starting a hunter safety course they gave to some kids in Tygarts Valley. When they received notice about the weapon, they immediately set to work and jumped on it. All three PRO officers took action and Sean Miller of the State Police was in the area and went inside and began searching for the gun. (The soldiers) immediately jumped in and helped us.

“It was reported pretty quickly and thankfully everything went well.” said Elbon. “We had some conflicting reports that it was an airsoft gun, this or that, but it turned out to be a loaded .45.”

“We are still investigating the incident to see if there was some sort of plan.” the sheriff told The Inter-Mountain. “There are some allegations and we are still trying to piece everything together. It could have been a bad situation. “Thank God, no one was injured.”

“I want to thank my lawmakers, State Police troopers, school officials, Randolph County Prosecutor Michael Parker and Randolph County Circuit Judge David Wilmoth for their quick response to our investigation,” Elbon wrote on social media.

“I would especially like to thank the students who quickly reported this incident to the authorities, resulting in a quick and safe resolution of the situation. “Our ongoing goal is to provide a safe and secure learning environment for all of our students.”