Burnsville High School teen charged with having gun after other students saw him making video

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·1 min read

A 16-year-old student charged with having a gun at Burnsville High School reported he bought the gun from an unknown male for protection at school, according to the Dakota County attorney’s office.

Prosecutors announced Thursday they charged the Burnsville teen with two weapons violations after he was arrested at the school Tuesday.

Concerned students told school officials they witnessed the teen taking a video of himself with a gun in a school bathroom, the Dakota County attorney’s office said of the juvenile petition. School staff located the teen and escorted him to the dean’s office, where a gun was found in his backpack.

The school reported Tuesday that they suspected another student had a gun and Burnsville police responded about 10:45 a.m. Officers did not find a second gun.

The firearm in the teen’s backpack was identified as a handgun with a fully loaded magazine containing 21 rounds.

The teen said “no specific threats of harm or violence were directed at him” and he is not accused of threatening other students, according to the Dakota County attorney’s office.

He was taken to the Juvenile Services Center in Hastings and made his first appearance in the case in juvenile court Thursday, where a judge ordered him to remain in custody. His next hearing will be in less than two weeks.

The teen is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person under age 18.

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