A 13-year-old student who had a handgun at Franklin Middle School was arrested Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
In a message to parents, the Long Beach Unified School District said that someone reported “what appeared to be a handgun” to school administration and campus security.
A campus security officer detained the boy, and police headed to the school at about 2:40 p.m., according to the Long Beach Police Department.
“A firearm was discovered in the juvenile’s possession and subsequently recovered by officers,” police said in a statement. “Officers arrested the male juvenile and transported him to Long Beach City Jail for booking.”
It’s not clear why the boy had the gun or what he intended to do with it. Police say they’re still investigating.
“There was no threat against our school community, and our campus remains safe and open for instruction,” according to the message the LBUSD sent around 7 p.m. on the day of the incident.
Parents said they have received no further follow-up and no additional details about the incident, including what may have motivated the student to bring a weapon.
Officials said in an email to the Long Beach Post that the incident happened in the afternoon during the last class of the day, and “the school administration’s priority was to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”
“This involved working closely with law enforcement and gathering accurate information, which took time before we could share a message with families later that same day. We remain committed to keeping our school community informed in a timely and thorough manner.”
The district said in its original message that counselors would be available to support students, and that was increasing security presence on the campus.
Jacob Sisneros and Melissa Evans contributed to this report.