Man arrested after bringing pellet gun into Corydon Elementary School

CORYDON, Ind. (WDRB) -- An armed man was apprehended Friday at a southern Indiana school.

In a release, Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk said Mike Leighty, 29, entered Corydon Elementary School as students were being dismissed, asking for help from a school resource officer.

"We had a parking lot full of parents, students were prepared to dismiss for the day, the doors were open," said South Harrison Superintendent Dr. Mark Eastridge. "(Leighty) took advantage of that situation to walk into the building."

Staff members at the school "immediately" noticed what was later determined to be a pellet gun in Leighty's pocket. A teacher then "calmly" escorted out Leighty of the building as the school went on lockdown.

"Some students were outside, headed toward another school for safety, and then we had students being locked down within the building," Eastridge said.

The school resource officer, who was inside the building, was called to take Leighty into custody. The SRO, who is a Corydon police officer, is Officer Steve Duley, according to Corydon Police Chief Matt Kitterman.

"(Duley) did draw his weapon," Kitterman said. "(The suspect) attempted to get his gun out of his pants, but he couldn't, it got hung up, so Officer Duley holstered his weapon and took him into custody physically."

Officials didn't know it was a pellet gun until Leighty was in custody.

"I think mental health may be an issue that we are addressing in this matter," Schalk said.

Leighty doesn't have any children at the school, and officials said he had no business being there. He faces charges of felony intimidation and disorderly conduct.

"Under Indiana law, a pellet gun does not meet the definition of a firearm," Schalk said. "Based on the fact that this was a pellet gun, I have no reason to believe Mr. Leighty was intending to harm anyone other than himself."

The school district is reviewing security policies to keep something like this from happening again.

Leighty is in the Harrison County Jail on a $2,800 bond and is expected to appear in court on Monday.