Palatine High student arrested on gun charges

A Palatine High School student accused of bringing a gun to school was arrested without incident Wednesday morning.

Maximiliano Arroyo, 17, of the 2100 block of North Heather Lane in Palatine, was charged with the felonies of aggravated use of a weapon on school grounds and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon possessed by a person under 21 years of age.

Further charges included another count of aggravated unlawful use of weapon and possession of a firearm without a firearm owner's ID card.

No one was injured in the incident and the gun was never used in a threatening manner, Palatine Deputy Police Chief Al Stoeckel said.

Initially two students were arrested shortly after stepping off the bus at the high school at 8:05 a.m. The second student was later released without charges.

Palatine police said a witness indicated that as the students were leaving the bus, a .22-caliber handgun fell out of Arroyo's pocket and onto the ground.

The second student then noticed the gun on the ground and put it in his own pocket, but reportedly with the intention of turning it in to school officials, police said.

A high school staff member and Palatine police officer in front of the school at the time were informed of the incident and the two students were quickly arrested.

"It was over as soon as it started," Stoeckel said.

Arroyo is expected in Cook County court in Rolling Meadows Thursday for a bond hearing.