Two high school students, one from West Hempstead High School and one from Smithtown High School West, appear in court after being charged with bringing guns to school, officials say

Two Long Island teenagers, one from West Hempstead and the other from Nesconset, appeared in court on Tuesday on charges they brought guns to their respective high schools, authorities said.

Nassau County police arrested the West Hempstead High School 15-year-old student on Monday for allegedly bringing a loaded gun to school and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon.

He was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead shortly before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty.

School security staff found the loaded gun in the student’s bookbag in his locker after getting a tip that the teenager had been in a fight the week before with a student from Hempstead High School, according to police.

School superintendent Daniel Rehman said in a letter to the district that administrators were treating the incident with "the utmost seriousness."

"As your superintendent, an educator, and a parent myself, I know today's incident is deeply concerning and troubling. I understand the anxiety and concern this may cause for students and families throughout our community. I want you to know that the safety and security of our students and staff remains our highest priority," Rehman wrote in his letter.

The boy was detained until Nassau County police could arrive and arrest him, authorities said.

His case did not appear on the public calendar and no information on his attorney was immediately available.

Again on Tuesday, the Suffolk County District Attorney announced the indictment of a Nesconset 16-year-old for bringing a stolen gun that was loaded into Smithtown High School West on Oct. 26.

Students alerted school administrators to a social media post and the student had been involved in a dispute with another student a week before, authorities said.

Based on their information, the principal searched the student’s bookbag and found a small kitchen knife, a Kahr P380 handgun and a loaded magazine with five rounds, prosecutors said.

“School should be a place where both students and faculty feel safe every day,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “I commend the students who came forward and reported the defendant’s alleged social media post displaying a firearm. Their actions enabled school officials to respond quickly, recover the weapon and work with my office to hold the defendant accountable before anyone was harmed. I encourage all students to follow this example and speak up when they see something concerning.”

The boy's lawyer, George Terezakis, said that there has been no allegation that his client threatened anyone or used the weapon against anyone.

"He's never been arrested," the defense lawyer said. "The allegations are very serious and we're still investigating it."

The attorney added that this client also works nights 20 to 30 hours a week at a restaurant.

These cases follow an attack last week outside a Suffolk County school that sent a student to the hospital.

A15-year-old Sachem High School student stabbed a fellow teen in the upper chest with a four-inch kitchen knife in the school parking lot, according to police.

The 16-year-old victim was rushed to Stony Brook Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

The mother of the suspected assailant, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and fourth-degree weapons possession, told Newsday after his arraignment that her son was protecting himself from a bully.