MESA, AZ — A student has been arrested after reports of a student with a gun on campus Thursday at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa.
The school's administration was reportedly notified Thursday that a student may have brought a gun on campus. When administration officials attempted to locate the student, he fled the campus.
The student was located a short time later by a Phoenix Police School Resource Officer in a nearby neighborhood. A gun was also allegedly located in a backpack in bushes nearby.
After being interviewed with a parent present, police say the student has been charged with misconduct involving weapons and minor in possession of a firearm.
The student has not been identified. It's unclear if the gun was loaded or not at the time.
A letter from the school's principal went out to families. Read it below:
It is very important to us to keep our parents and families as informed as possible regarding any incidents involving our campus and students.
This morning, a student reported to a teacher that a student showed them a weapon. Our team acted immediately, contacted Mesa Police Department, and on approaching the student in question, the student fled off campus. Campus did not go into lockdown due to the potential threat no longer being on campus. Mesa Police Department apprehended the student. Security conducted a thorough search of the route the student took when fleeing and found a gun off campus.
The student has been arrested and disciplinary action will be taken according to district policy. Mesa Police Department will continue their investigation with full support from Desert Ridge High and Gilbert Public Schools. All students are safe and being supported as needed by our staff. School will continue today.
We take incidents such as this extremely seriously and we are grateful to the student who took appropriate action and reported this to our administration so that we could act and keep our students and staff safe. Please remind your student should they ever hear or see something concerning, to always say something to a parent, staff member or trusted adult.
Providing a safe and secure learning environment is our top priority at Gilbert Public Schools,and Desert Ridge High. Please be assured we take incidents like this very seriously and thank you for your continued support of our students and our school.
