Students in one Florida high school spent their first day in lockdown after police received an anonymous tip that a 15-year-old had brought a gun to school, The Messenger News reported.
The teen, from North Lauderdale, was arrested at around 1:15 p.m. Monday at Coconut Creek High School after the gun was found in his backpack, according to police.
Following the arrest, the student was sent to the Juvenile Assessment Center, 7 News Miami reported. The school is located about 35 miles north of Miami.
The 9 mm Glock pistol was loaded and had been shown to another student, who informed school security about the incident, police told NBC 6 News. The 15-year-old now faces charges of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm by someone under 18, and causing a school lockdown.
"We don't have any indication right now that I know of that the student waved it around or threatened anybody with it; but still, the bottom line is you can't bring these things to school," Coconut Creek Police Department spokesman Scotty Leaman told Local 10 News.
Broward Schools Superintendent Peter Licata released a statement, 7 News Miami reported, saying: "We are deeply disturbed [about] a student's actions. However, we are pleased that the message of 'See Something, Say Something' continues to help our schools be safer learning environments for all.
"It was thanks to a student seeing and saying something that campus security was alerted of the issue."
Licata added, "The school's leadership immediately placed the school on lockdown status [upon receiving a tip from a student] and worked with law enforcement to safely recover the weapon from the student's backpack," according to 610 WIOD News Radio.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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