Loaded handgun found outside Wheaton school

A loaded semiautomatic handgun was found Wednesday morning on the ground outside a Wheaton elementary school, police said.

The 9 mm weapon was spotted by a neighbor walking his dog around 8:30 a.m. on the far south side of the Madison School property at 1620 Mayo Ave. It was left next to a dog leash along a dirt trail about 75 yards from the school, authorities said.

Officers responded immediately and recovered the handgun before the school day started.

“The gun was completely out of sight and secure when the children started arriving,” said Erica Foreman, spokeswoman for Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200.

After confiscating the handgun, Wheaton officers and detectives checked inside and outside the school and found no additional weapons.

“They checked for any suspicious persons or items and found nothing,” Deputy Chief Thomas Meloni said.

Foreman said school staff members did their own search of the building and found nothing suspicious.

Meloni said officers remained on campus as students began arriving for the school day. He said there were no additional threats to the safety and welfare of the students.

“The kids probably don't even know why there were police officers at the school,” Foreman said.

District 200 officials notified parents of the roughly 450 students at Madison about what happened.

“We take the safety of our students very seriously,” Foreman said. “We will continue to work with the police department should they need any additional information.”

Meloni said detectives are working to find the owner of the weapon. There are no recent reports of crimes in Wheaton that involved firearms, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Cmdr. James Volpe at (630) 260-2055.