A 17-year-old Juneau resident was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor weapons misconduct charge after allegedly taking a .22 caliber pistol to school and attempting to sell it.
The Juneau Police Department said in a press release that a resource officer at Thunder Mountain High School got a report about "a student with a firearm." A 17-year-old girl at the high school reportedly spotted a fellow student with a handgun in a backpack.
Juneau Police Department Lt. Dave Campbell said no students were threatened and none were hurt. He said the student supposedly tried to sell the firearm. The teenager showed the gun to several students and told others it was for sale, Campbell said.
The boy who had the gun was seen leaving the school on foot, the press release says.
Thunder Mountain High School and Riverbend Elementary School reportedly both went into lockdown while the incident was addressed.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., Juneau police found the teenager crossing a pedestrian bridge next to a nearby track and field facility, Campbell said. He was arrested and the pistol was seized as evidence.
The teenager now faces a fourth-degree weapons misconduct charge. He is being held at the Johnson Youth Center, a 30-bed youth detention facility in Juneau.
The incident comes three days after a 13-year-old brought a BB pistol to Saturday school. The boy reportedly showed off the generally nonlethal weapon to another student and claimed it was a real gun. Juneau police opted to leave the boy in the care of his parents after executing a search warrant and seizing the BB gun Tuesday. However, he could face a reckless endangerment charge.
Reach Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy@alaskadispatch.com
By JERZY SHEDLOCK
jerzy@alaskadispatch.com