Student found with firearm by new weapons detection system at Mesa High School

Madeleine Parrish, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
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A student at Mesa High School was found with a firearm Wednesday morning while attempting to go through a new weapons detection system to enter the school.

The student "at no time threatened another student or staff member with a gun," according to district spokesperson Jen Snyder. The student was arrested.

It was the first day Mesa High School had implemented the weapons detection system, which consists of free-standing pillars that students walk through to enter school.

Weapons detectors are essentially metal detectors marketed as less invasive and quicker than detectors used in airports and prisons. In certain settings, they can detect specific metals known to be in weapons so that students don't have to remove innocuous metal items like keys, belts, and cell phones.

Mesa Public Schools voted in November to place the detectors, which cost about $20,000 each, at entrances to the district's high schools. It was a response to incidents that had taken place the prior year. Six firearms were found across the district's schools during the 2022-23 school year.

In the statement, Snyder described the weapons detection system as "another layer" to the district's security measures. The goal is to deter anyone from bringing weapons onto campuses, she said.

The detectors were piloted at Skyline High School before being implemented at Red Mountain and Mountain View. They were placed at Mesa High School on Wednesday and at Westwood on Thursday. Dobson High School will implement them on Monday, Snyder said. They'll be used at graduation.

According to Snyder, the student found with a firearm will be disciplined according to the district's discipline procedures. The district's student code of conduct notes that expulsion is required when a student brings a firearm to school. According to Arizona law, a school district must expel a student "who is determined to have brought a firearm to a school within the jurisdiction of the school district" for at least one year, though districts may modify the requirement on a case-by-case basis.

Reach the reporter at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Weapons detection system finds student with firearm at Mesa school