A 14-year-old Massachusetts student was arrested after he allegedly told a classmate he was going to shoot another student.
The male freshman student at Tewksbury Memorial High School has been charged with threatening the use of a dangerous weapon, two counts of threatening to commit a crime and disturbing a school assembly, accoriding to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
The teen was arrested Thursday morning after he allegedly told a classmate that he intended to shoot a fellow student. The classmate alerted school officials to the comment around 7:40 a.m., and the freshman who made the threat was approached by the school's resource officer, according to authorities.
It was then that officials also activated a shelter-in-place for other students and faculty, and the student who allegedly made the threat was searched for weapons. Officials found none in his possession, nor did they find anything during a subsequent search of the school.
Students told NBC10 Boston that the school's principal announced the shelter-in-place Thursday morning, and that teachers were ordered to keep students calm.
The teen remains in the custody of Tewksbury police officers. It's unclear if he has an attorney or when he will face a judge in Lowell Juvenile Court. His name was not released due to his age.
Some parents have picked up their children; those students who were not picked up by their parents will be dismissed at the regular time. Police officers will remain on campus for the rest of the school day.
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One parent told NBC10 Boston that authorities checked the parents' IDs as students were escorted from their classrooms and through a metal detector.
The concerned parent said she waited for over an hour to get her child.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Tewksbury police at 978-851-7373.
