A National City high school went into secure-campus mode on Thursday after a student began showing other students what looked like a handgun but was actually a pellet gun, the Sweetwater Union High School District said.
Students at Sweetwater High School were told to stay inside locked classrooms for up to 15 minutes as National City police investigated if a student had a brought a weapon to school, SUHSD spokesperson Manny Rubio said.
"The idea [of secure campus] is you don’t want to create a whole lot of panic, a whole lot of chaos but you want to make sure that people are staying where they are and we are able to move forward," Rubio said.
The student, a ninth grade boy, was quickly identified by police and removed from campus, Rubio said. It was not yet clear if he would be facing any charges or further disciplinary action, Rubio said.
Administrators were alerted to the incident by the student's classmate, who saw the boy showing what was believed to be a weapon to other students.
"They physically saw the student kind of showing other students that they had something," Rubio said.
He praised the student for coming forward.
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"If you see something you want to report it, and that’s the right thing to do, Rubio said. "This student did the right thing today by coming forward and saying, 'I saw someone with something.'"
