A student was detained and a BB gun was located at Willow Glen High School in San Jose, police said.
Officials placed the campus under a shelter-in-place order Wednesday afternoon while police investigated an anonymous tip reporting a student bringing a weapon on campus.
A parent told NBC Bay Area students at around 1:40 p.m. were being escorted out of the campus to be reunited with family.
Police said there were no reports of injuries and parents were later allowed on campus to pick up their children.
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San Jose Unified School District provided the following information to parents and its community:
"Dear Parents and Guardians,
Today was an incredibly challenging day for our students, employees, and families. We are extremely grateful that our students and employees are safe, and that today’s incident was quickly and peacefully resolved. We greatly appreciate the efforts of our administrators and SJPD, who put the safety of our students above their own to protect our schools.
Today, the administrators at Willow Glen High School received a tip that a student had a weapon on campus. We immediately contacted the San José Police Department, which promptly responded to the incident and arrived on campus. As a precaution, we initiated a shelter-in-place until the situation was resolved. Willow Glen Middle was also placed in a shelter-in-place during the same time. The shelter-in-place lasted from approximately 12:30pm to 2:00pm.
Upon investigation, the police found a student in possession of a pellet gun. The student was arrested and taken into custody. The situation has concluded and there is no further threat to the safety of our students and staff.
We fully recognize the fear and anxiety these incidents cause. San José Unified counselors will be available at Willow Glen Middle School and Willow Glen High. If students or employees want to speak to someone, please let a teacher, counselor, or administrator know so we can connect them to resources.
Our District is fully prepared to deal with incidents like these and has a clear protocol we follow to ensure the safety of students and staff. You can learn more about how we navigate situations like these in the San José Unified Safety Protocols.
We all need to process what happened during an emergency. We want to support students, staff, and families in the best possible way as they process their experience. Talking about the experience can be helpful, following some guidelines to avoid the spread of false information or the creation of unnecessary fear.
- Check in with your children. Ask how they are doing. Contact a trusted adult at the school if you are concerned about your child so we can support your child with counseling or other resources.
- Only share information that you can verify is true. Ask questions if you want information you do not have. Be mindful that your questions and comments can trigger others.
- Be mindful of where and how you share information. Rumors and misinformation often spread quickly and create unnecessary fear for our community.
- Be kind to our teachers and administrators. They do an incredible job keeping our students safe, and they are people, too. In the immediate aftermath of an emergency, practice gratitude that your children are physically safe due to the dedication of the caring adults at their school.
- Share feedback and suggestions in a respectful way, assuming that you may not know all the details of why a school responded in a particular way.
The safety of our students and employees is our top priority. We all have a role to play in keeping our schools safe and secure, and we appreciate students, staff, and community members who come forward when they have information related to school safety. "
