Update: Staff at Verrado HS disarmed student with loaded gun

By Madeline Ackley Salazar
Mail | Twitter: @Mkayackley

A potential tragedy was averted Wednesday after two staff members at Verrado High School managed to wrangle a gun away from an armed student identified only as a 15-year-old boy.

District security protocols were initiated after campus staff learned of a weapon on campus around 8 a.m. and staff began to question a group of students, police said.

Staff called in the full-time school resource officer. “Moments later, a student who was believed to have a gun ran away,” the Buckeye Police Department wrote in an announcement. 

The school resource officer “stopped the student and learned the student was not armed.” While the resource officer was busy with the running student, staff learned of another student believed to be armed.

After a struggle, two staff members managed to disarm the student who was then taken into custody by Buckeye police.

No one was injured, including the 15-year-old who was arrested. 

Police are now investigating how the student obtained the gun and why it was brought to campus, reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses.

The school announced around 9:20 a.m. that it was on lockdown “due to a weapon on campus.”

At 9:35 a.m. it was announced that the campus was secure and that students were being sent home for the day.

Verrado High School is located off 20050 W. Indian School Road and its major crossroads are near Indian School Road and Jackrabbit Trail. It has a population of around 1,650 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“As soon as the threat was reported, the Verrado Administrative team and the on-campus Buckeye Police Officer immediately implemented emergency protocol,” the school announced on its website.

“Buckeye Fire and Police were on the scene quickly to assist. The student with the weapon was detained and the weapon was confiscated. Due to their diligence and quick response, all students were evacuated and remained safe.”

The identity of the student and the surrounding circumstances have not been released.

Agua Fria Union High School District acknowledged the incident in a school board meeting later in the day, and board President Trey Terry called the incident the “elephant in the room.”

Verrado Principal Nate Showman spoke before the school board, reiterating the broad strokes of the incident and next steps.

“Our security team and our administrative team was phenomenal today in their response time,” Showman said. “They were able to subdue the student in a way that not only kept all students safe in our building but did not hurt the other student.”

He added that students were sent home early “as this was a pretty traumatic event for our building.”

Showman said that the school also has a “plan of support” in place which involves having a crisis team available to students and staff. He also mentioned a video will be played in all classrooms Thursday.

“We will also have a virtual optional available for students and even staff if they do not feel comfortable coming into the building tomorrow,” Showman said.

He encouraged students and staff to “seek support” if they need it.

“I can’t tell you enough just how proud I am of our Verrado community,” Showman said. “Our administrative team, our security team essentially…put themselves at risk to keep our buildings safe...On a day that could have been very tragic, it ended up being a day where no one was hurt, everyone was safe, and the incident was taken care of relatively quickly.”

Madeline Ackley Salazar can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.