NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Police
were called to Stratford High School in East Nashville after a teenager was
found with a gun on campus.
Officials with Metro Nashville
Public Schools said the school resource officer found bullets in the hallway Wednesday.
School officials started scanning surveillance video to find out who might have
been in the same area.
The determined an 18-year-old
student was the likely suspect and approached the student Thursday morning.
They identified a suspect who seemed suspicious and called him out of class.
During
a search, the SRO found a 22-caliber revolver in the teenager's waste band.
Officials
said the gun was turned over without incident.
"Any
point in time when there's a weapon on school grounds there's some degree of
risk… but this student was very cooperative. He did not try and flee. He did
not try and access the firearm," said Tony Majors, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for Metro Nashville Public
Schools. "Once he saw the SRO call him out of class with the assistant principal,
he was very cooperative and surrendered the firearm."
The
18-year-old senior was taken into custody and arrested for possession of a
weapon on school grounds. The school was not placed on lockdown.
Police said the student told
them he took the gun to school because he felt threatened, but not at school.
It was not clear why the bullets were left in the ground.
School officials said it was
the first incident at the school this year. There have been 11 similar
incidents across the district.
Investigators said students and
teachers were not in any danger.
Officials
said state policy required that he be expelled from school for one year.
