California school officials sought to reassure concerned parents this week after a loaded gun was discovered at a middle school in Redlands on Nov. 14.
Police arrested two people after the gun was discovered in a restroom on campus at Cope Middle School, Redlands Police Department (RPD) said in a news release.
The individuals are students at the school, according to officials.
“Officers were on campus after responding to a report of a bomb threat that was phoned into the school earlier in the day,” police said. “RPD worked with campus safety and school administrators. Following investigation, including a thorough search of the campus with a police K9, that threat was determined to be unfounded.”
As police were completing their investigation into the alleged bomb threat, they received a report that a student was seen discarding a handgun into a trash bin in the restroom, according to police. A police search subsequently led to the discovery of the loaded weapon.
Following an investigation, law enforcement officials identified a 13-year-old boy who had discarded the weapon. Further investigation identified a 14-year-old boy who had originally brought the gun to school, police said.
Parents Question Lockdown Decision
No injuries were reported.“If you can’t stop fights, how are you going to stop a gun?” one mother asked, according to the publication.
Other parents questioned why the school was not placed on lockdown following reports of a bomb threat and the discovery of the loaded gun.
“Does someone need to die for you to shut down school?” the father of one child asked.
However, school officials said a probe into the incident had not found that the teenagers had planned a mass shooting at the school. They also defended the school’s decision not to place the school on lockdown, noting that the decision was made following consultation with law enforcement officials, and based on how credible the bomb threat was.
A lack of detail regarding the alleged threat suggested it was likely a hoax and a bomb-sniffing dog did not detect any such device, officials said.
2nd Gun Found
“We don’t want the person who’s making threats to win. We’re going to have school tomorrow. It’s going to be safe,” Mr. Cabral added.The Epoch Times has contacted Redlands Unified School District for further comment.
The discovery of the loaded gun came just days before police in Springfield seized a loaded gun in the possession of a student at Glendale High School in California.
In a statement, the school said administrators received a tip that a student “was in possession of a weapon at school.”
No one was injured during the incident, according to officials
“School police and administrators responded immediately to the tip, removed the student in question from the classroom, and secured a small handgun at approximately 2:30 p.m. today,” officials said. “The weapon was loaded, the student was cooperative and everyone is safe.”
The student was placed in police custody and will be processed by law enforcement. They will also face “appropriate disciplinary procedures” officials said.
“This is an important reminder that we all—students, staff, and parents—share a responsibility for school safety and to report when we observe anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. We commend the individual who provided the tip which led to a swift resolution,” officials concluded.
