GREENFIELD — The student who owned the handgun a classmate was seen pointing at the school in a social media video faces criminal charges, records show.
Michail “Bailey” Rankin, 18, 250 W. Walnut St., Greenfield, faces two misdemeanors and has been ordered to appear in court for a hearing later this month, according to online court records.
Rankin owned the Smith & Wesson 9-mm Luger seen in a Snapchat video that led police to put Greenfield-Central High School on a precautionary lockdown Jan. 23.
The video shows a 17-year-old student seated inside a car — later determined to be Rankin’s — parked between the high school, 810 N. Broadway St., and the Academy at Greenfield-Central, an alternative school located immediately south of the main campus, court documents state.
The 17-year-old can be seen pointing the gun at the high school building with his finger on the trigger, court documents state.
A high school student, who received a copy of the video via the social media app, called 911 to report the incident, and area police immediately responded to the school to investigate. Officers determined no students were in danger; but they placed the school on a lockdown that lasted about 30 minutes, court document state.
Rankin can be seen in the video, seated in the driver’s seat, police said. Another juvenile student, standing outside the car, filmed the incident on a cellphone, police said.
All three students involved were taken into custody shortly after the video was reported to police, court documents state.
Rankin told police he always keeps the handgun inside a duffel bag in his car, according to court documents. His 17-year-old friend knew where the gun was kept in his car, and he took it out of the duffel bag as they were sitting in the parking lot that day before going to class, Rankin told police.
Rankin admitted he should have told his friend not to mess with the weapon, court documents state.
He said he didn’t realize the other juvenile student was taking a video that would be sent out to other classmates; he though the student was just taking a photo, he said.
Rankin’s age means he faces charges in adult court; the other students involved were referred to juvenile probation, records of which are sealed from the public.
Rankin faces one Class A misdemeanor of possession of a firearm on school property and one Class A misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Each count carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.
Rankin has been ordered to appear for his initial hearing 9 a.m. Feb. 22 in Hancock County Superior Court 2.