SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A student allegedly brought a gun to a Sacramento middle school Friday and was subsequently arrested amid a growing national trend of school shooting threats on social media.
School administrators at Will C. Wood Middle School were informed near the end of the school day a student allegedly had a handgun in their backpack, according to a letter Principal Mary Cha sent Friday to families. The student was immediately removed from class, and the weapon was secured, she said.
The Sacramento Police Department told ABC10 officers responded to the middle school just before 2 p.m., located the firearm and seized it. The student was arrested for related charges, police said. No injuries were reported.
Cha said the student will also be referred for disciplinary action under Sacramento City Unified School District’s zero-tolerance weapons policy. There may be additional legal consequences for the student as well, she said.
“This news is disheartening in its own right, but for it to occur on a day when there were so many hoax school threats across the country demonstrates why these threats are so dangerous and must all be investigated properly,” Cha wrote in her letter. “I would like to also express my gratitude to the students who bravely and responsibly came forward to report this incident. We tell our students to practice ‘see something, say something,’ and this is an example of why that is so important.”
Cha asked parents and guardians to talk with students about the “see something, say something” lesson and encouraged them to notify school administrators in the event they witness something unsafe.
Students, staff or families may submit an anonymous WeTip message by:
- Calling: 844-916-4544
- Texting: "Report" to 844-916-4544
- Visiting: https://mobile.catapultems.com/sacramento-city-usd/Sites
“Nothing is more important to me than the safety of our students and staff,” Cha said.
