After Morton West High School officials ignored the warnings of a special education student who said he saw a peer with a gun in school, police confirmed on Wednesday that a 17-year-old brought a semi-automatic handgun into the building and have charged the teen in the incident.

Though Morton Superintendent Ben Nowakowski said last week there was no gun — calling the student reporting the weapon “unreliable” — police said they went to the Berwyn home of Morton West student Fernando Aguilar on Oct. 19 where he admitted bringing his father’s .38 caliber handgun onto school grounds Oct. 15. Police recovered the weapon.

“The boy made a statement that he had brought the gun to school, unloaded, on (Oct. 15),” said Police Chief William Kushner. “He gave two reasons: One was to show off and one was to protect other family members from taking it and using it to hurt one another. ... Apparently there was no malicious intent.”

No one answered the phone at Aguilar’s home Wednesday afternoon.

Aguilar was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card and unauthorized possession of a weapon, police said. The boy was released Monday on $1,000 bond, Kushner said.

Kushner said Berwyn Police pursued felony charges in the incident, but the State’s Attorney’s office instead brought misdemeanor charges.

Assistant State’s Attorney Alan Lynn said school officials have been uncooperative.

“Unfortunately, no one from the school would cooperate with police to identify the perpetrator or the weapon,” Lynn said. “It handicapped police in their ability to investigate the case.”

The incident began after a special education student reported seeing another student with a gun inside of Morton West. Nowakowski ignored an idea by Berwyn Police to lock the school down, calling the suggestion an overreaction.

“The child could not describe what the person looked like who had the gun and ... the student’s version of the incident was deemed unreliable,” Nowakowski said Friday afternoon. “The student did not come forward with enough information to convince us there was enough information (to lock down). ...

“There seems to be some concern that maybe we did not make the right decision (but) no one was hurt and no weapon was found," Nowakowski said. "Every time we hear information we try to sort out rumors from factual information. We try not to make decisions that affect 3,400 students based on rumors or something unreliable.”

Nowakowski did not return calls for this story. Board President Jeffry Pesek did not immediately return phone calls  for comment.

It is unclear what kind of disciplinary action the school may take against Aguilar.

Kushner said police cannot force school officials to lock down the school, and declined to comment on whether the administration made the right decision.

“I can’t offer an opinion on that, because that call is not mine,” the chief said. “That call is the school administration’s. ... However, we’re still very, very concerned that there was a firearm in the school, and even more concerned that there is a 17-year-old out there with a gun.”