CENTRALIA, Mo. – A Centralia High School student was taken into custody Friday after bringing a gun and ammunition to school.

Centralia Police Chief Larry Dudgeon said early Friday morning, the Centralia High School principal was told by some students that their friend might be bringing a gun to school. When that 15-year-old student got off the bus, he was immediately approached by administrators and police

Dudgeon said police found a .380 handgun and 21 rounds of ammunition inside the student’s backpack. He said they don’t know what the student’s intentions were, but everyone in the community can’t help but think about what might have happened if the student’s friends had not said something.

“They played the biggest part. They saw something, they heard something, and then they said something. Because of that I can sit here in this chair and talk to you this evening instead of being down there at the high school and cleaning up a mess,” Dudgeon said.

The gun was stolen from the student’s girlfriend’s parent’s home, according to Dudgeon. The student is now at a juvenile detention center.