High School Student Brings Loaded Gun To Class

At a time of increased anxiety over the threat of mass shootings at U.S. schools, police in New Jersey peacefully resolved a potentially dangerous situation. A male student at Franklin High School in Somerset was charged with bringing a loaded gun to class last Friday, MyCentralJersey reported.

The unidentified 17-year-old student was charged with unlawful possession and possession for an unlawful purpose. Police were notified late Friday morning that the student may have had a weapon on school grounds. They worked with school officials to find the student while he was in class, where he was promptly removed.

A warranted search of his backpack produced a loaded 9mm handgun. There was apparently no indication of an imminent threat to his fellow students or teachers.

MyCentralJersey noted the similarity to another case in nearby New Brunswick a few days later. A 12-year-old male student at New Brunswick Middle School claimed he had a gun in his backpack, creating a minor scare. However, unlike the Franklin student, it was determined the boy did not have a gun in his backpack or at home.

The incident was one of many in recent weeks in which a school took caution against a possible shooting threat. Copycat threats immediately popped up around the country following the deadly Parkland, Florida, shooting, prompting several school lockdowns. On Monday morning, a Philadelphia student also brought a loaded handgun to school, CBS Philly reported. The gun was caught by a metal detector in the student’s backpack and removed.

On the same day as the Franklin High School incident, a Florida student reportedly brought an AR-15 rifle to school. An AR-15 was used in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.