Second Wichita high school student arrested with a gun this week, officials say

A second Wichita high school student has been arrested this week after being found with a gun, Wichita police spokesperson Trevor Macy said Friday.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday at Wichita East High School with a handgun, he said. The gun wasn’t stolen and it’s not clear where the student got the gun, he said.

The arrest is the latest in a tumultuous week for the largest school district in Kansas that included brawls at three high schools (Southeast, West and South) and a student being arrested with a gun. Friday’s brawl at Wichita South High School also involved an additional scare after students threw poppers and at least one yelled “gun.”

“Those students have also been disciplined,” district spokesperson Susan Arensman said in an email. “All these incidents this week are not related. It is not normal for this many incidents to happen in one week, but sometimes incidents come in waves.”

The gun found on a 16-year-old student Monday at Wichita West High School also wasn’t stolen, Macy said, and it’s unclear where the boy got it from.

Thursday’s arrest happened after a Wichita Police Department School Resource Officer got a tip from staff about a student having a gun. Macy said police are looking into the string of incidents at the high schools.

“I don’t have information at this time to say whether they are or are not related,” he said. “I don’t have any information at this time to suggest gang activity.”