WHITEHALL, Ohio — Whitehall police say that two teens were arrested Thursday morning after a stolen car, drugs and a gun were all found in a school zone.
The license plate reading Flock cameras alerted officers that a stolen car was in the area. Whitehall police followed the stolen car to Walnut Ridge High School. When they searched the car, they found a gun and spent shell casings.
“We had another incident of a stolen car with some juveniles this morning. We were able to get that car located and blocked in before it could take off and pose a risk to anyone else,” said Whitehall Lt. Brian Smith.
Whitehall police say the boys were in the car that was stolen from Columbus when they were apprehended.
Smith said that someone had left the car running and the teens saw the opportunity to jump in the car and take off.
“They had picked up another, what appeared to be, another student and there was some marijuana use going on inside the car. We waited for that to stop before we approached the car,” Smith explained.
Once officers searched the car, they found a stolen gun and spent shell casings.
“Having shell casings, those bullets were fired at something. If they weren't directly fired at something, the bullets came down at some point. We are worried it is only a matter of time before this transpires into something much worse than it is now,” Smith said.
So far this year, Whitehall police have taken nine reports for stolen vehicles compared to 11 at this time last year.
Whitehall has recovered 10 stolen vehicles so far this year.
“This issue just seems like it doesn't seem to stop. It's an issue of not just the stolen cars, but it is what people are doing in these stolen cars,” Smith said.
Walnut Ridge High School initiated a level two lockdown for around 30 minutes during the incident.
The two teens have been charged with receiving stolen property.