A student at College Place High School reported to school administration on Wednesday that the student had seen a handgun in the possession of a student on campus the day before. School Administrators Principal Robert Aguilar and Assistant Principal Ambra Bryant quickly involved College Place Police Department and Student Resource Officer Andrew Schild to assess the situation. Within minutes additional officers were on campus to locate and apprehend the situation without incident.
The school made the decision not to lockdown to avoid alerting the student of a possible situation, but instead moved swiftly to secure the student’s location with visual contact while waiting for additional police support. Once CPPD arrived on scene, the student was quickly taken into custody in the classroom. The student did not have a weapon in possession, but admitted to bringing an AirSoft gun (plastic BB) to school on Tuesday. The student faces both school discipline and the district will pursue charges with College Place PD.
“It is against school rules and state law to bring a gun of any type on a school campus and we will deal with these situations aggressively and harshly to protect our students and staff,” said Superintendent Jim Fry. “Our schools are only as safe as the individuals who are courageous enough to step up to do the right thing, and report when they see or hear something. Today, a student at CPHS did just that and we are thankful,” Fry added.
All schools resumed normal operation once the situation was under control. The name of the student cannot be released due to age.