Police: Teen brought loaded gun to Evansville school

Keyonja Lee`jainu Barnes, 17. (Vanderburgh Co. Jail)

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - An Evansville teenager is in jail after police say he brought a gun onto school property Thursday afternoon.

Police say they got a call from someone who saw a man with a gun walking toward Glenwood Leadership Academy.

According to police, 17-year-old Keyonja Barnes went to the school after students were dismissed for the day to ask his cousin about some tennis shoes. School officials say he talked to his cousin and then left without causing any problems.

We're told for the brief time that Barnes was inside the school, he behaved respectfully and was never threatening.

Officers found him on South Bedford not long after. Police say he had a loaded .380 pistol on him and an extra magazine.

Officers say he resisted arrest and they had to use a taser on him. Police say Barnes told them he carries the gun for protection because both of his brothers had been shot.

"While the gun being on school grounds is a safety concern that I'm sure a lot of parents are like, "Oh my goodness, this gun was on school grounds,' there really wasn't anything that happened while he was there where he posed an immediate threat," said Sgt. Jason Cullum with EPD.

Cullum says Barnes claimed he had ditched the gun under a car before going into the school, but officials who saw him leave the building said they never saw him pick anything up from the ground.

Barnes was taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail and charged with carrying a firearm by a child, possessing a firearm on school property and resisting law enforcement.

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation released this statement about what happened:

Yesterday after school, we learned of the arrest of an individual for an incident previously reported to police. After the arrest was made, it was confirmed the individual was briefly in the Glenwood Leadership Academy office after students were dismissed for the day to speak with a family member. School staff was very familiar with the individual who behaved in a respectful manner and was never threatening while in the office. After his brief visit, he left the school without incident.

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