No Charges After Loaded Gun Scare Behind Parkway South High School

Manchester police tell Patch prosecutors decided not to file charges against the 19-year-old Webster Groves man who prompted four Parkway schools to go into "lockout" mode Dec. 17 while police searched nearby woods for the teen who posessed a loaded shotgun.

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No one was injured during the incident and the teen finally surrendered peacefully to authorities.

Manchester Police Chief Tim Walsh said his investigators presented the case to the St. Louis County Prosecutors office shortly after the incident, which is normal procedure, but prosecutors determined they would not file criminal charges against the teen.

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The incident began around 4:30 p.m., Dec. 17 after police said the teen bought a shotgun Monday afternoon, texted his girlfriend that he was going to kill himself, then proceeded to the area near Parkway South High School, causing more than two hours of alarm at four Parkway district schools. 

Police said he was taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation after the incident, but it is still unclear why he came from Webster Groves to Manchester.

Manchester police tell Patch the shotgun was loaded when it was seized by police. It was purchased by the teen at South Side Guns on Gravois Road hours before he headed into the woods behind Parkway South with the gun.

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