UPDATED Wednesday, April 22, 2009 --- 7:50 a.m.

MONROE, Wis. (AP) -- Investigators say a shotgun brought to Monroe High School by a 16-year-old student was stolen.

Green County sheriff's deputies say the gun was taken from a building in Cadiz Springs Township last week.

The male student appeared in Green County juvenile court Tuesday following his arrest Monday for possessing a gun on school property.

Two students told school staff about the gun, which was unloaded and in a gun case in the student's vehicle.

Police Chief Fred Kelley says the gun was never brought into school and there were no threats made.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, April 21, 2009 -- 9:40 p.m.

This is just the latest incident in a string that's plaguing an other wise quiet southern Wisconsin school district.

Monday, as the country remembered those who lost their lives in Columbine, officials in Monroe were busy avoiding their own tragedy.

They successfully did that. But only after a frightening revelation.

"You don't ever feel good hearing about a gun in your school."

Alex Capesius and his classmates at Monroe High School have been through a lot in the last few days.

Last Friday, students got an unexpected day off when the school was vandalized.

Monday, they got a scare when officials found a gun in the back of a student's pick up truck.

" I was a little nervous, " says Capesius.

Students tipped off administration who then got in contact with the officer stationed here at the school.

They then came outside where they searched the vehicle of the student in question and they found a 12-gauge shotgun.

"There was no ammunition anywhere in the truck, on the student, in the students locker...anywhere."

District Superintendent Larry Brown also says the gun was locked in a toolbox.

...which means the student technically didn't do anything wrong.

That's according to Monroe's Police Chief Fred Kelley.

"There is an exemption from prosecution if the firearm is unloaded and in a case."

The only problem is that the Monroe School District has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to guns and the gun was stolen.

The student is only 16-years-old.

But, if he is charged as an adult and convicted he could face some stiff penalties.

" A felony like that you're looking at prison time or in the tens of thousands of dollars fine perhaps."

Chief Kelley says the student was released into a parent's custody.

He also says this event, just like the others before it, have him and the entire community worried about what's happening at the high school.

The Monroe Times is reporting that the student was in court Tuesday.

It was closed to the public because he is a juvenile.

No charges have been filed as of yet.

The district attorney's office has 30-days to do so.

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Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 --- 2:40 p.m.

Press Release from Monroe Police Department:

On April 20, 2009 at about 11:14 a.m. Monroe Police investigated a report of a 16-year-old male Monroe High School student possessing a firearm on school grounds at the Monroe High School, 1600 26th Street. After a search by school authorities, the firearm was discovered in a vehicle in the parking lot.

The firearm, a 12-gauge shotgun, was located cased and unloaded in a vehicle, by school staff. The firearm was secured by the Monroe officer assigned to patrol the school, and during the course of the investigation, the officer found that the firearm was allegedly stolen from a rural Monroe residence.

The student was taken into custody and transported to the Monroe Police Department, and was later ordered held in secure detention by Juvenile Intake, pending further action. The matter will now be taken up by the Juvenile Division of Green County.

The stolen firearm case was referred to the Green County Sheriff's Department for further investigation. School authorities will investigate any violation of school rules.

This incident does not appear to be related to any of the recent school threats or recent incident of vandalism at Monroe Schools.