SAN DIEGO -- A Thurgood Marshall Middle School student was arrested on suspicion of bringing two loaded pistols to the Scripps Ranch campus with him Thursday, authorities reported.

A classmate of the boy went to the principal's office at the Avenue of Nations school about 12:30 p.m. to report the presence of the guns there, said Jack Brandais, a San Diego Unified School District spokesman.

By the time administrators located the suspect, he had passed the weapons on to two other students, and they had left campus with them, Brandais said. Police located those boys later in the day and took them into custody. It was unclear if they will also face criminal charges.

All three students will be in line for possible suspension or expulsion under the district's "zero tolerance" weapons policy, according to Brandais, who would not release the boys' ages or grade levels.