Weapons detection system foils Mesa student bringing gun on campus, school says

MESA, Ariz. - A student allegedly brought a gun to Mesa High School on Wednesday – the very same day that the school installed a new weapons detection system.

Mesa Public Schools say no one was hurt and the student who brought the gun did not threaten anyone. The student was arrested and will be held accountable according to school discipline policy.

Students heard about the gun on campus, and emails went out to parents.

"It was very nerve-wracking," Dahlia Mota, a student, said.

In a statement, the district said, "Mesa High School launched its weapons detection system this morning. The system located a firearm on a student attempting to go through the system to enter campus. While this student at no time threatened another student or staff member with a gun, they have been arrested and will be disciplined according to the Mesa Public Schools discipline procedures. Safety is a top priority at Mesa Public Schools. Weapons have no place in our schools. The weapons detection system is another layer to MPS security measures. Our goal is weapons detection will deter anyone from bringing weapons on our campuses."

The weapons detector is similar to what people walk through at Chase Field or at State Farm Stadium.

Mesa Public Schools says all six high schools will have the detectors set up by graduation.

Students, of course, are just glad that no one was hurt.

"It's a great way to be safe, but I feel like there's always some work around it," a student named Paulo Larsen said.

"It's definitely a nice reassurance that there's some way to catch it before it happens, but it's always going to be on my mind that something could happen," a student named Anthony Gomez said.

Mesa Public Schools is also encouraging students to speak up about suspicious behavior.