FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody after, police said, he brought a BB gun to Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.
The school, located near Northwest 25th Terrace and 11th Street, was placed on lockdown at around 9:15 a.m. on Friday after reports were made that a student had a weapon on school grounds.
Fort Lauderdale Police responded to the campus and detained the sixth grader, who was found with the weapon in his backpack.
“He reached into his backpack, withdrew a firearm pointed it at one of the staff members and began pulling the trigger,” said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione. “Thankfully, it turned out that the firearm was only a BB gun.”
Officials said the student pointed the weapon at a school counselor. It’s unclear whether the weapon was loaded, but no one was hurt.
The lockdown lasted approximately 30 minutes. Students were locked in their classrooms until it was lifted.
“Now that I know what happened, I’m still very shaken up about it, but I’m just glad that I’m able to know that everyone I know and everyone I care about is safe,” said student Alexia Frontson. “My mom was freaking out. She was texting me the entire time. I was making sure everyone I knew was OK, that they were safe, that they were in a safe spot, like nothing could happen to them.”
Dillard High School teaches students in grades six through 12.
The student will face several charges. Police said one of them will be a felony.
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