SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A 16-year-old student was taken into custody after bringing a “ghost gun” as well as magazine with ammunition to Lincoln High School Tuesday, San Diego Unified School District Police.
The incident began around 2:30 when police received a call from the school regarding a student with a weapon.
"I was in the front office and the welcome center right there. So I saw everything, you know, the police come with their gun; running,” Trina, a Lincoln High School parent, said.
"We were in the bathroom and we heard a long beep. And we were like Oh my, God it's lockdown,” Ciara, a Lincoln High School student, said.
San Diego Police told ABC 10News there were reports told to school staff that a load magazine had fallen out of the student’s pocket. School staff said a 16-year-old boy was getting agitated and refusing to give up his backpack.
A police spokesperson told ABC 10News that the student had told staff that he had a gun or something to that effect when they spoke with the student. At the time, all of this information was being relayed to police according to San Diego Police.
After discovering the ammunition, police said school administrators locked down the school, keeping the student in the principal’s office as officers responded.
When police arrived at the school, the student came out of the office, but “didn’t fully comply,” police added, forcing San Diego Police to deploy beanbags. After the student was subdued, officers found the “ghost gun,” in his pants following a search.
San Diego Police told ABC 10News that the student was given a medical evaluation and then taken into custody.
The student was then taken into custody without incident. “I've got to commend to staff members that kept that open contact with the student kept them calm. It kept this issue from escalating and it could have been a lot worse,” police said at a news conference.
Captain Alfonso Contreras of San Diego Unified School District Police said seeing a “ghost gun,” make it’s way on to a school campus is a very disturbing thing.
“We have over 1100 students that come here daily. This could've tragically ended. Fortunately, the teamwork with San Diego Police and our departments, getting the resources here right away, and the cooperation with the staff, it ended under the best circumstances. We took a gun off of the street and a juvenile into custody,” Contreras said.
The San Diego Unified School District said the lockdown was lifted just before 4 p.m. The district said it’s also making counselors available “to support students and staff members this week.”
