LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Jefferson County Public School student at Southern High School is facing charges after Louisville Metro Police said he brought a gun into school Friday.
According to an arrest report, staff found the gun, and marijuana, in a backpack belonging to 18-year-old Dut Athoba Friday morning.
In a letter to parents, Southern principal Tyler Shearon says they searched his bag after noticing a strong smell of marijuana.
Shearon says the gun was never used in a threatening manner.
Now let's take a step back and compare the number of guns illegally found on school grounds across the state and here in Jefferson County, over the years.
A report from the Department of Information and Technology Services looked at charges filed between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2021 in Jefferson County and the state.
In 2019, there were 96 cases statewide and 31 were in Jefferson County.
In 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic, the Kentucky number shrinks to 38 while JCPS goes down to 15.
Then, in the most recent year on record, 2021, 70 were reported statewide and 29 of those cases were here in Jefferson County.
Additionally, according to information from LMPD through April 10, three homicide victims were 17 or younger. Another 21 non-fatal shooting victims fall in that same age range.
The data shows four shooting suspects are also under 18.
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