Puyallup School District officials report 4 incidents with guns on campus in about a month
Guns in Pierce County schools
Kids are sneaking guns into Puyallup schools. Pierce County Sheriff's Deputies say they arrested a teenager, armed with a firearm at Emerald Ridge High School on Wednesday.
PUYALLUP - Puyallup School District officials report four incidents where kids brought guns into schools in about four weeks.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputies say a 15-year-old boy, armed with a handgun, walked the halls of Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup for hours, until he got caught smoking weed in the bathroom, around 1 p.m.
"The principal went over and intercepted that bag, opened it, and immediately was in disbelief. The SRO went over, looked in the bag and there was a firearm inside this kid’s backpack," said Sgt. Darren Moss with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators say they arrested the student, and Puyallup School District Officials say the 15-year-old has been expelled, but this kind of trouble is not new for the district.
"Just a month ago, we had two other incidents in the Puyallup School District: one at Glacier View Junior High, right next to Emerald Ridge, and the other one at Ballou Junior High just a few miles from this high school, as well," said Moss.
Last Thursday, Puyallup Police said they arrested a teenage boy for bringing a gun into Puyallup High School.
No one was hurt in any of the incidents.
FOX 13 News asked Moss why kids are bringing guns into school.
"Well, I would love to tell you, but unfortunately, we’re not allowed to interview any juveniles without an attorney present. So, we can never ask them why they thought they needed to bring a gun, what was the point, were they trying to hurt somebody, were they protecting themselves," he said.
Moss says he believes the rise in teenage violence on the streets is spilling into the classrooms.
"If you look at all of our armed robberies, our burglaries where they are smashing vehicles into businesses, our shootings, and even some of our homicides, the victims and suspects are teenagers and young adults," said Moss.
Moss says the best way to prevent guns in schools, is to lock up your firearms.
Officials with the Puyallup School District tell FOX 13 News they are alarmed by the number of incidents, and they are hosting a community safety forum next Tuesday, at
They are hosting a virtual community safety forum next Tuesday, at 6pm, to answer questions and concerns.