Juneau police are reporting a 13-year-old middle school student may face reckless endangerment charges after bringing a BB pistol to school.
The Juneau Police Department said in a press release it got a call Monday from a concerned parent who reported their child had seen a fellow student at school with a pistol.
Officers interviewed the 13-year-old about what he witnessed, and he reportedly relayed that he'd been attending Saturday school at Floyd Dryden Middle School when another 13-year-old boy showed him a pistol.
Lt. David Campbell said the boy claimed the BB gun was a real firearm, but there were no threats. "It wasn't pointed at anyone," he said.
Officers called the school and identified a suspect, then obtained a search warrant for his house.
Later on Monday, police went to the young teenager's home and spoke with the boy and his parents. The pistol was located, and police discovered that the weapon "turned out to be a very realistic looking BB pistol," the press release says.
The 13-year-old told officers he wanted to show off the gun at school, according to JPD. Police seized two BB pistols as evidence; they conferred with the Juneau District Attorney's Office and decided to leave the boy in his parents' care, Campbell said.
However, the case was forwarded to the Johnson Youth Center for consideration of reckless endangerment charges. And the school was notified of the incident.
Campbell said the department often receives calls about BB guns. The generally nonlethal firearms are an issue when they look realistic, he said, because people react accordingly, which can create dangerous situations.