A loaded gun fell to the ground during a fight Friday morning between several Sylmar High School students — an incident that led to a school lockdown and at least one arrest, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
No injuries were reported.
In a statement to families and staff, Los Angeles school officials acknowledged “a disturbance on campus” and that school police “recovered a weapon from a student and that student was taken into custody.”
The KCAL news station reported the incident Friday, interviewing a parent who said students talked about a gun being found and that her 11th-grade son saw another student taken into custody in his classroom later in the school day.
Regarding the preparations for the altercation, “they said two kids were going to fight, and one of the kids pulled a gun on the other kid,” the parent told the TV reporter.
KCAL also released two videos showing the fight that took place. In one of the videos, it appears that at least two students are punching another. Part of the second video shows a student picking up an object off the ground that could be a gun — though the video, as released, is blurry.
While the district has not confirmed that the object was a firearm, a source familiar with the investigation said officers recovered a loaded gun that fell to the ground during the altercation and was later confiscated by officers.
The source was not authorized to speak about the incident and requested anonymity.
The district acknowledged one arrest, but the source said more than one student was taken into custody.
Last week marked the start of the new school year at LA Unified, the second-largest school system in the country.
The fight — and the apparent recovery of a loaded gun — came a day after an after-school stabbing at Franklin High School.
District officials appear to have alerted parents quickly via a messaging system, although details are limited.
The first message informed parents that “an incident was occurring in or near our school, which has necessitated the lockdown of our school.”
In the event of a lockdown, “all doors and gates of the school are locked,” they were informed.
In an update, the school alerted families that the lockdown began at 10:15 a.m.
A third message noted the end of the lockdown, which the district said ended at 10:54 a.m. The third message also said the regional office would “provide additional support staff to ensure the safety and well-being of our school community,” including mental health support.
It is common for this type of support to be provided by campus police officers. Typically, these officers are limited to patrols and are not allowed to come onto campus.
The scenario of a fight or assault in which a student picks up a gun recently had deadly consequences just off campus, near Washington Preparatory High, when a student was fatally shot by another student.
