Pike County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Pleasant Hill High School student yesterday morning after they allegedly brought weapons and homemade body armor to school.
According to a press release, at 10:55AM Thursday morning, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department received a report from a school administrator at Pleasant Hill School District that a high school student possibly had brought a firearm to school and said they believed the firearm was in the suspected student’s vehicle. Several students had also alerted school officials about comments that had been made on a social media platform.
The report says that Pleasant Hill school staff were currently monitoring the suspected student and their vehicle.
The Pike County Sheriff’s Department, Pleasant Hill Police Department, Illinois State Police, Illinois Conservation Police, and the Pittsfield Police Department all responded to the school and performed a subsequent investigation.
Subsequent to a search of the suspect’s vehicle, a loaded handgun, ammunition, alcohol, cannabis, and homemade body armor were all located and seized by law enforcement.
As a result of the investigation, 18-year old Zane A. Fesler of Rockport was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID Card, unlawful possession of ammunition without a FOID Card, and unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor.
Pike County Chief Deputy Zack Orr says the investigation is still in the very early stages. Law enforcement officials are still conducting interviews and following up on leads. At this time, there have been no known direct threats to any school, students, or school personnel regarding the incident.