A 16-year-old Bowen High School student who brought a loaded handgun to school on Monday was charged Tuesday with unlawful usage of a weapon in a school zone, officials say.

The boy, a junior at New Millennium School of Health on the Bowen campus, is charged as an adult and faces two to five years imprisonment if convicted, state's attorney spokesman Andy Conklin said. Bail was set Tuesday afternoon at $50,000.

The weapon was discovered during an X-ray search of the boy's backpack as he entered the school at 8:20 a.m. Monday.

Students at the school, at 2710 E. 89th St., are subjected to X-ray searches of their belongings every time they enter the school. A security guard found the .38-caliber revolver in the backpack. Two rounds of ammunition were in the gun.

Cole fled from the scene but was apprehended by police shortly afterward at his home.