Firearms found near WHS ball field

WASHINGTON — Details are gradually coming to light about a pair of handguns found near Washington High School, where police said they’d been left under a tree for over a week, starting just before the school year ended.

The Washington school district sent out an email to parents around 4 p.m. June 4, saying the city’s police department had been “recently called to our school property after two firearms were discovered.” The communication signed by Superintendent Willie Stone said both firearms were in police possession and that an “investigation into the matter” was underway, but otherwise provided few details. Stone declined a request for comments the same day, instead directing The Union to the Washington Police Department.

Police Chief Jim Lester also declined to comment Wednesday night, but in a press release the following morning, police said officers had found two handguns on May 30 under a tree near the high school baseball field. A Call For Service log released by Washington County’s emergency communications department last week confirmed that officers were dispatched to Washington High School’s address to recover “two items located on (the) property” at about the same time.

The press release said both guns were placed over a week prior on May 22, citing video surveillance footage from the school. It said neither firearm contained ammunition when police retrieved them.

May 23 was the last day of classes, according to the school district’s calendar. Broadcast schedules for the Southeast Iowa Live showed at least one home baseball game in Washington between May 22 and 30. Other events on high school grounds in the interim included the last day of classes, athlete end-of-year banquets, commencement, and a softball game that began two hours before the firearms were reported, based on police records.

“The presence of firearms near a school causes concern for everyone,” Lester said in a statement. “The officers who responded quickly determined that neither handgun contained ammunition and posed no immediate danger. We take every incident involving a weapon seriously and our investigation is ongoing with an arrest imminent.”

In a Facebook post shortly before noon Thursday, Superintendent Willie Stone released a statement including many of the same details shared by police.

“We want to reassure families that the campus remains safe, and additional safety protocols have been reviewed and reinforced as a precaution,” Stone wrote. “We also want to remind our community that firearms are strictly prohibited on school property. These policies are in place to protect everyone on campus and are taken very seriously.”

It remains unclear who placed the guns on the property or why. The department’s press release said they were reported by a citizen who found them there, and The Union has filed a public records request Wednesday night seeking more information on the circumstances surrounding the guns’ discovery.

Police said they planned release more information after an arrest is made. No further updates were available as of Monday morning, and none of the arrests mentioned in Washington County’s public Call For Service logs since the press release have mentioned firearms.

Bringing firearms onto school grounds is a Class D felony under Iowa Code, punishable by up to five years in prison. The law makes exceptions for weapons carried by police, or anyone “specifically authorized by the school.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com