Gresham High School students on edge after boy arrested with gun on campus Friday
PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Authorities are investigating how a student ended up inside Gresham High School with a gun after he allegedly threatened someone outside, leaving several students on edge after the fact.
On Friday, Sept. 20, someone in the community called the school to alert them they had been threatened by someone with a gun at a nearby transit center whom they believed was a high school student.
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Gresham police later confirmed that the student had carried the weapon into the school. Staff found the student and placed them in a secure area before contacting police. No shots had been fired.
The student, only identified as a 17 year old, admitted to staff that he had the gun, which was later confiscated by officers during their arrest. He now faces charges of unlawful possession of a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and having a firearm in a public building.
Several students told KOIN 6 News they feel unnerved after the incident because they did not hear much about what had happened until the weekend.
These students reported that the school did not lock down during the incident, though students like Ionna Brown said improved security would be a good idea.
"Not really like checking backpacks, but if they had those metal things — the wands — to check if there's any type of metal in their backpacks, then they would check and see, just in case. I feel like that would be very helpful," Brown said.
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Gresham High School does not have school resource officers or school-based officers, and families want to know more about how the district intends to protect students in the future.
KOIN 6 News has yet to hear back from the school administration regarding what procedures were put in place when they first heard of the student with a gun.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
