A Christian County Sheriff’s Department detective says one of the three 16-year-old boys knew the family whose home was burglarized two weeks ago. They say the boys went in through a skylight in the ceiling while a man and his daughter were asleep.

The burglars stole nine rifles. The detective says four of them were sold to a man in Hickory County. That man called the cops.

"This person realized something wasn't right -- purchasing these firearms for the price that they purchased them for," said Christian County Lt. Kevin Turpin.

Police think the other five guns ended up at the high school.

"There were some kids who said, 'Oh yeah, back on the 24th, he had come to school and he had some guns in the back,'" said Bolivar Police Chief Michael Siebert.

The police chief says some guns were sold on school property but he's not sure it was during school hours. What he does know is one of the boys had five guns in his car's trunk and was showing them to all of his friends.

Siebert says officers also found stolen wheels, tires and stereo equipment that the boys were trying to sell. The boys face several felony charges, including one for the brazen break-in.

"Typically, when we have a situation where someone is bold enough to go into a residence with someone present, it involves meth, because they're high and they have no sense of fear," said Turpin.

Not the case here, officers say. This was just boys looking to do some damage.

"What we did is just spent an entire day or two rounding up all these firearms," said Siebert.

Bolivar School District Superintendent Steve Morgan says he's taken care of the situation but can't speak specifically about it. When the Safe Schools act is violated, he says, the minimum punishment is a 180-day suspension from school and it could go all the way up to permanent expulsion. The students, however, have a chance to appeal that.