INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA
Mesa police arrested a student Thursday after he was seen with a gun on the Red Mountain High School campus, authorities said.
Police received a call from staff at the school at about 2:50 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, reporting a student was on campus with a gun in his backpack.
School staff found the student walking on campus, and he fled when they attempted to walk him to an office.
The school’s resource officer followed the student as he ran into a desert area near Red Mountain Park, police said.
The school was placed on lockdown.
Mesa officers arrived and found the student near the park. He was arrested at about 3:20 p.m., police said.
Police said they found a weapon matching the description of the one the student had in his backpack near where he was arrested.
The lockdown at the school was lifted following the arrest when officers determined there did not appear to be any threat to students or the school.
“Through investigation, it was learned that the student never removed the gun from his backpack, didn’t threaten anyone with it, and there was no plan to use the weapon,” police said in a release.
The student faces several felony charges and was booked into the juvenile detention center, police said.