SPOKANE, Wash. — UPDATE, October 15, 3:33 p.m.
Spokane Police said a 12-year-old was booked into the Juvenile Detention Center for bringing a loaded handgun to Shaw Middle School Tuesday.
According to police, school officials called in around 11:30 a.m. saying a student had a weapon in their backpack.
School Resource Officers quickly took the student’s backpack away and he fled campus after 911 was called. Officers found a loaded handgun in the backpack.
Once the school knew of the incident, Shaw Middle School and other nearby schools went into a brief lockdown. Messages were sent out to families at those schools just before noon.
Spokane Public Schools said the lockdown lasted around ten minutes.
The student was found a short distance away from campus and detained without incident.
SPD said the student showed the gun to another classmate and told that classmate to not say anything.
The suspect was booked for possessing a dangerous weapon on school facilities and unlawful possession of a firearm.
ORIGINAL STORY, October 15, 11:57 a.m.
Shaw Middle School in Spokane went under lockdown Tuesday afternoon due to a gun reported in a student’s backpack.
The school district said the lockdown, now lifted, lasted around ten minutes while law enforcement searched for the student.
SPS said messages were sent out to families and staff about the incident just before noon Tuesday.
4 News Now cameras at the scene show police looking at what appears to be a gun of some kind. We don’t know if it was real or fake.
The school district said the student was apprehended by police; 4 News Now asked Spokane Police if the student was arrested.
A police spokesperson is trying to find that information for us.
On Track Academy, NEWTech, Bemiss Elementary and Regal Elementary also went into Secure and Teach for about 10 minutes during that same time.
If you have reason to believe there is a potential threat at a Spokane Public School, call Campus Safety at 509-354-7233, email safeline@spokaneschools.org or send an online message here.
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