Student Charged After Gun Scare At Philly High School: Police

PHILADELPHIA – Reports of a man pointing a gun at students Thursday, May 10 at George Washington High School in Philadelphia turned out to be a student seemingly acting as if he had a gun, police said.

A 15-year-old student has been charged with criminal mischief, terroristic threats, false alarms, and related crimes after he allegedly pantomimed pointing a gun in the school, which led to a lockdown and search, police said.

According to police, at about 11 a.m. Thursday a school police sergeant saw a man on surveillance cameras walking down a hall in the school, abruptly stop, put both his hands up, and get in a stance that looked like he was pointing a gun.

The sergeant saw a small dark object appearing to be a gun in the man's hand, police said.

A lockdown was then initiated and police searched the school while students were sheltered, police said.

Police later identified the man seen on cameras as a teenage student and arrested him, police said.

No weapon was found in the school and no one was injured, police said.

The lockdown was lifted at 2 p.m.

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