This booking photo released by the Newtown Police Department shows Jason Adams, arrested Wednesday, April 6, 2016, and charged with having a gun at the town's middle school. Adams, 46, a teacher at the... (Associated Press) 
 
 This booking photo released by the Newtown Police Department shows Jason Adams, arrested Wednesday, April 6, 2016, and charged with having a gun at the town's middle school. Adams, 46, a teacher at the school, was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, which is illegal in Connecticut.... (Associated Press) 
 
 This booking photo released by the Newtown Police Department shows Jason Adams, arrested Wednesday, April 6, 2016, and charged with having a gun at the town's middle school. Adams, 46, a teacher at the school, was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, which is illegal in Connecticut.... (Associated Press) This booking photo released by the Newtown Police Department shows Jason Adams, arrested Wednesday, April 6, 2016, and charged with having a gun at the town's middle school. Adams, 46, a teacher at the... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — A teacher was arrested Wednesday for bringing a gun to the town's middle school, police said. 
 
 The 46-year-old teacher, Jason Adams, has a valid pistol permit, but Connecticut state law prohibits possession of firearms on school grounds. 
 
 A telephone message seeking comment was left at Adams' home in Newtown. 
 
 Adams was detained by school security after he was seen with the gun and then arrested by Newtown police who were called to Newtown Middle School, according to Police Chief James Viadero. Adams was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and released. 
 
 On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 20 students and six educators at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter fatally shot his mother inside their Newtown home before going on the rampage and then killing himself. 
 
 Adams has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, according to the Newtown public school system, which said in a statement that it has been working closely with local police. 
 
 "This matter is very serious and troubling, both the Newtown Public School system and the Newtown Police Department took immediate steps to address the matter," the school system said. 
 
 Newtown police said the department has contacted the state's weapons licensing and permit unit to make them aware of the arrest. 

 NEWTOWN — A middle school teacher was charged Wednesday after he was found carrying a gun at school, police said. 
 
 Officers were called to the school by officials about 9 a.m. who said science teacher Jason M. Adams had come to the school with a concealed firearm, police said. Security personnel had detained him at that time. 
 
 After an initial investigation by police and school district administration, Adams, who has a valid pistol permit, was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, a class D felony. 
 
 School officials said that Adams, a science teacher at the school, was placed on leave pending the results of their investigation. Police said that Adams had also violated a school policy. 
 
 "This matter is very serious and troubling, both the Newtown Public School system and the Newtown Police Department took immediate steps to address the matter. The teacher was immediately detained by security personnel," the school system said in a statement. 
 
 "Both agencies have been working closely together to investigate the incident and are taking precautions to ensure the continued safety of our students, staff and community members," the school system added. 
 
 The police chief said authorities have contacted officials at the state's licensing and permit unit to make them aware of Adams' arrest on Wednesday. 
 
 Calls to Adams for comment were not immediately returned. 
 
 Adams, 46, was released without posting bail and was scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court April 20. 
 
 In December 2012, a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 20 first-grade students and six adults. 
 
 Sandy Hook Promise, a group formed by several victims' parents after the 2012 shooting, said in a statement: "We are dismayed that this could happen in a school, especially one in a community as traumatized as Newtown. We commend the Newtown Police Department and Newtown Public Schools for their thoughtful handling of the arrest of science teacher Jason Adams for violating the law by bringing a weapon onto school grounds." 
 
 Following the shooting, Newtown officials placed armed police officers in every school. They have since replaced them with armed school security officers, who are mostly retired officers. 
 
 The security officer assigned to the middle school is a retired Shelton police officer. He disarmed Adams and held him in the school office until police arrived and arrested him. 
 
 The entire school system had a two-hour delay Wednesday because of staff meetings so students weren't in the building when another teacher noticed Adams was carrying the weapon and alerted school officials. 
 
 It is unclear why Adams took the gun to school. 
 
 "We disagree with the law as far as permit holders not being able to carry on school grounds," said Scott Wilson, president of Connecticut Citizens Defense League, a group that advocates for gun owners' rights. "However, the law is the law and hopefully this person had the intent to protect students from harm's way in a worst-case scenario."
– Police say a teacher was arrested Wednesday for bringing a gun to the middle school in Newtown, Conn., the same town where, on Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 20 students and six educators at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School. The 46-year-old teacher, Jason Adams, has a valid pistol permit, but Connecticut state law prohibits possession of firearms on school grounds. Adams was detained by school security after he was seen with the gun and then arrested by Newtown police who were called to Newtown Middle School, according to Police Chief James Viadero. Adams was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and released, the AP reports. Adams has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, according to the Newtown public school system, which said in a statement that it has been working closely with local police. "This matter is very serious and troubling, both the Newtown Public School system and the Newtown Police Department took immediate steps to address the matter," the school system said. Newtown police said the department has contacted the state's weapons licensing and permit unit to make them aware of the arrest. Since the Sandy Hook shootings, armed school security officers have been placed at every Newtown school, the Hartford Courant reports. After another teacher saw Adams allegedly carrying the weapon while there were no students in the building due to a two-hour delay, he alerted school officials and the school security officer disarmed Adams.