A student bringing a loaded gun into Reading High School prompted the school to switch to a remote-learning schedule through Friday, Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said Friday.
The incident occurred at the school Wednesday afternoon and resulted in city police taking two juveniles into custody and charging them, Adams said.
No one was hurt.
A student inside the building opened an unauthorized door to let the other two students enter and evade metal detectors at the normal entrances, Adams said.
Reading police officers assigned to the school and school security officers employed by the district quickly found the two, apprehended them outside the building and discovered one had the gun, which moved the school to clear the hallways and secure the exterior of the building, he said.
The 16-year-old boy with the gun was charged with possessing a firearm by a minor, possessing a firearm without a license, possessing a weapon on school property, evading arrest or detention on foot, trespassing and disorderly conduct, Adams said.
He remains in a juvenile detention facility awaiting further court disposition.
The second boy who entered the building is 15 and was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and evading arrest or detention on foot, Adams said. He was released to await his next court date.
No information was available on why the student took the gun to school.
Police are investigating the boy who let them into the building, Adams said.
Adams said the school has a good security plan, as shown by how fast officers were able to detain the boys who entered illegally.
But it also is an enormous building with many doors, including unauthorized entranceways that can be opened from the inside, and that is a problem the district has been looking into for some time, he said.
Teachers worked from their classrooms and posted asynchronous work for students on their Google Classrooms accounts Thursday and Friday. Students were to log into Google Classrooms to complete their assignments from home.
A district spokeswoman on Thursday would not specify the nature of the incident but said no one was injured. District officials were not immediately available Friday.
The school is expected to return to its normal in-person schedule Monday.
Reading police are investigating but have not released any information.