Willis High School Student Detained After Loaded Gun Found in Backpack

A Willis High School student was taken into custody Wednesday morning after an assistant principal found a loaded firearm inside the student's backpack, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said the discovery happened around 10:40 a.m. when the assistant principal was conducting a bathroom check after finding students skipping class. During the check, the assistant principal searched the student's backpack and found the loaded gun inside. The Sheriff's Office responded to the campus about ten minutes later, around 10:50 a.m., after being notified of the incident.

The student, identified by the Sheriff's Office as 14 years old, was detained and is being held at the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center. Willis ISD said the student told administrators they did not know the gun was in the backpack. Deputies said no threats were made toward the school, staff or other students at any point during the incident, and the campus was secured without disruption to the rest of the school day.

Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle addressed the case in a statement Wednesday. "Protecting our children, students, staff, and schools is a responsibility we do not take lightly," Doolittle said. "This is of the utmost importance to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and we will continue working closely with Willis ISD to ensure the safety of every student remains the number one priority."

Willis ISD sent a message to parents confirming the incident and laying out how the district plans to handle it. "A gun was discovered by an assistant principal when searching a student's backpack this morning and was immediately confiscated," the district said. "Although there was no threat to other students and the student reportedly didn't know about the item, the matter is being addressed in accordance with the Student Handbook and the laws of the State of Texas."

The district's message also included a request aimed at preventing similar incidents. "Please remind your students to check any backpacks used for leisure activities for prohibited items before the bag is brought to school," the statement said, adding that campus safety remains the district's "highest priority."

The district did not say in its statement how the firearm ended up in the backpack or whether it belonged to someone else, only relaying the student's claim of not knowing it was there. That detail, along with the specific disciplinary steps facing the student, has not been made public. Willis ISD's student handbook outlines a range of consequences for weapons violations, including suspension and expulsion, and Texas law separately criminalizes bringing a firearm onto school property regardless of a student's stated intent.

Willis High School is part of Willis Independent School District, which serves a growing stretch of Montgomery County north of Houston along Interstate 45. The district has expanded over the past decade as new subdivisions have filled in around Lake Conroe and the surrounding area.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said its investigation into how the student obtained the firearm and where it came from is ongoing. No further details on charges against the student have been released. Willis ISD has not said whether the student will face expulsion or a shorter suspension, decisions that typically follow a hearing before the district's disciplinary panel under the terms of the Student Handbook.