North Philly Student Brought Toy Gun To School: Reports

PHILADELPHIA — A 12-year-old student has been charged with possession of a gun, causing a lock down at Gen. Louis Wagner Middle School in North Philly, according to reports. However, those reports say the student was armed with a plastic pellet gun and not a real firearm.

Nobody was injured in the incident, but school officials played it safe by locking the school down Friday, Feb. 16, after a student notified them that they had seen a person with a gun on campus.

Police searched the school twice for a weapon amid the high tension surrounding weapons in schools after last week's deadly and tragic school shooting in Florida.

District officials said despite the high anxiety of school violence following the school shooting in Broward County, Florida, the students, staff, and faculty of Wagner Middle School and the district overall followed district protocol perfectly to ensure the safety of the school community.

Parents were alerted to the incident by robocall Friday and will also get letters and another robocall later, officials said.

Officials said Friday's incident was an example of students, staff, school police, and Philadelphia Police working together to make sure the school was safe.

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