A Marina Del Rey school was placed under lockdown Wednesday after a firearm that a student took to school went off, according to a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson.
Westside Global Awareness Magnet, a K-8th-grade school, is searching for the student who is accused of taking a gun to campus. The gun discharged inside a classroom after the backpack it was in dropped to the ground, according to LAUSD.
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WATCH HERE“The bullet didn’t hit anybody,” said a parent who participated in a Zoom meeting following the incident. “It ricocheted around the class and fell on the ground.”
The school held a video meeting with parents to discuss the incident and assure students were physically unharmed during the commotion. After the gun went off, the school contacted police for further investigation.
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SIGN UP Concerned parents voiced their worries that precautions aren’t being taken to search backpacks at school. During the virtual meeting, they called for added security measures that involve searches.
“Even though no one got hurt, there should be more safety precautions,” said Brittany Williamson, the mother of a student at Westside Global. “I’m threatening to take my kids out of the school because this is not acceptable.”
Parents were first alerted of the incident via text message at 9:11 a.m. then given an update at 10:40 a.m. A recorded message also went out to parents’ and guardians’ phones.
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“In an abundance of caution, the Los Angeles School Police Department will be providing on-campus support and extra patrols for the remainder of the week,” an LAUSD spokesperson said. “The Region and school site will provide mental health supports to any students who were affected by this incident.”
School officials and law enforcement entities are still searching for the student who is believed to have taken the gun to campus; they are aware of his identity.
