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A high school student who allegedly brought a gun to school has been cited by Palo Alto police, the department announced on Monday.
Last week, police cited the student for possession of a weapon on a school campus after receiving information that she brought a weapon, possibly an airsoft gun, to Palo Alto High School and showed it to another student. The alleged incident occurred about two months ago, police said in a press release.
Administrators at the school, located at 50 Embarcadero Road, reported a suspicious circumstance to police dispatchers on March 24 at about 11:28 a.m. Students had reported a female student had posted images of herself holding a handgun on Instagram and might have also brought the weapon to school in the past. Police launched an investigation in close collaboration with school officials, they said.
A 15-year-old female student had allegedly posted two images on Instagram that showed herself holding what appeared to be a black handgun. One of the images was dated in December 2022. The images have since been removed.
Officers interviewed the student and multiple others with knowledge of the situation. Based on those interviews, police determined the weapon might have been an airsoft gun that belonged to the student’s relative. The images might have been digitally altered to remove the orange tip, which identifies it as an airsoft gun, or the orange tip had been removed from the weapon.
At one point about two months ago, the student allegedly brought the weapon onto the Paly campus and let a classmate hold it while in a school bathroom, police said.
Officers cited the student for possession of a weapon on a school campus — a misdemeanor — and released her to the custody of a family member. Police searched the student’s home and did not locate the weapon, which is currently believed to be out of state in the possession of the relative who owned it.
Additional information on the student will not be available since she is underage, police said.
Police praised the students who came forward to report what they had seen online, as well as other students who cooperated and assisted with the investigation.
“The importance of the common mantra of ‘If you see something, say something’ cannot be overemphasized. In order to maintain a safe environment at school for students and staff alike, students with information about others possibly in possession of weapons should immediately report that immediately to police, a school official, or another trusted adult,” the department said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Palo Alto Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
This news came out on the day of another school shooting.
Guns of any kind are a big problem in this country. It matters not whether they were legally purchased or illegally obtained. It matters not whether it was an assault weapon or an air soft weapon. It matters not whether there was mental health or trans issues on the part of the person involved in bringing the weapon to school. It matters not whether there were armed security or open school doors. It matters not whether the venue was a Christian school, a workplace, an asian dance school or a gay night club. None of these things matter.
What does matter is that there is something in this country about guns that no other country in the world seems to share. If this is really the most free country in the world, then we must ask ourselves why people in this country are unable to give up their guns as a right so that the rest of us can live our lives as a right. My right to live a safe life must be taken into consideration. I have rights, my family has rights, our children in school, our churches, our dance studios, our gay bars, our workplaces, our shopping centers, our grocery stores, are all places where we have the right to be able to visit with the expectation of being safe from other people with guns.
I am sickened by anything to do with hearing of a gun on the Paly campus. So thankful that nothing serious happened as a result – this time.
Americans are obsessed with guns. I have no desire to own one myself, but I don’t think Americans should give up their rights to own one. If they do, only criminals will have guns. If someone wants to own a gun, so be it. Be properly trained, and don’t bring one to school.
Well said, Bystander. Every time there’s a gun related murder (small scale or mass murder) I wonder “Where were all of the ‘right to carry’ people? Aren’t they our self appointed militia, at the ready to stamp out any threat?” It shouldn’t be a surprise so many of them occur in the south, where a truck without a gun rack indicates an owner who is light in the loafers, as the saying goes. Oh yeah and the truck has to have a Confederate flag on it somewhere, and mudflaps with silver nude silhouettes of the kind of women the men never seem to attract. Lest I be perceived as sexist, I’ve seen lots of southern women who carry the torch for that bygone era too, known as “Reconstruction”. Which is ironic. Because the only thing they wanted to reconstruct was the Constitution, to strengthen the amendment that allows us to carry guns. Loop de loops.
Bringing a weapon to school should be cause for expulsion. But, I am sure that kid is still walking the halls of PALY. California is very lax when it comes to student behavior/discipline. I was told a kid would need to bring a gun or a knife to school to be expelled. Here is the actual case of a kid bringing a gun to school and I betcha that kid wasn’t even suspended. The administration is scared to discipline children at PALY. I have seen it over and over.