Education

Police conclude investigation into student who brought gun to Fire Lake Elementary

Police have concluded an investigation into a boy who they said brought a backpack containing a loaded gun and a knife to Fire Lake Elementary. Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim said the case has been turned over to the municipal prosecutor’s office for review.

“They will determine if charges will be filed,” Thim wrote in a Wednesday email.

Police were called to the Eagle River school on the morning of Sept. 26 after three of the student’s classmates reported the weapons to a school staff member, police and Anchorage School District officials said. A school resource officer responded and the student was removed from the school.

District officials have said they are unable to discuss any possible discipline against the student due to federal privacy laws. The district’s handbook states that any student found to have brought a gun to school will be expelled for at least one year.

This is the second incident this year in which an Anchorage-area elementary school student brought a gun to school. In February, a loaded handgun was found in a student’s backpack at Rogers Park Elementary in Anchorage.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the agency the case was referred to; it was the Anchorage municipal prosecutor, not the Anchorage district attorney.

Matt Tunseth

Matt Tunseth is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and former editor of the Alaska Star.

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