BETHLEHEM, PA – Police identified a student with a gun inside the gymnasium during a Freedom High Shool basketball game last week.
According to police, on January 20, the Bethlehem Township Police Department was contacted by Freedom High School officials who were alerted to a photo image which appeared and was circulated on the social media app Instagram.
In the photo image, a male is shown raising his upper body clothing to display a handgun concealed in the waistband of his pants. School officials recognized that the photo of the male was taken inside the Freedom High School gymnasium lobby. Based on the grip of the displayed handgun, it appears to be a semi-automatic black handgun.
“A time stamp of the image indicated that the image was taken on the evening of Friday, January 20, 2023 during a boys’ varsity basketball game, Freedom High School vs. East Stroudsburg South Senior High School,” police reported. “An investigation into the matter was initiated and police investigators soon identified the person depicted in the social media photo as juvenile who resides in the City of Bethlehem. It was also determined that the juvenile is a Liberty High School student who is currently enrolled in a cyber home school program and does not attend regular school classes.”
This week, the juvenile suspect was charged with possession of a weapon on school property and possession of a firearm by a minor.
During a search of the teen’s home, police found the gun which turned out to be a bb gun replica of a Heckler and Koch 9mm pistol.