Crime & Safety

Officers Take Handgun Away From Student At San Leandro High

The weapon, which was never brandished, was quietly confiscated in the front office Friday morning while the rest of the school was unaware.

A potentially dangerous situation was resolved quietly Friday when security officials at San Leandro High School took a loaded handgun away from a student who had not brandished the weapon publicly.

According to a press release from the San Leandro Police Department, the incident began at about 10:45 a.m. on Friday when an unidentified teacher called in campus security officers after a student refused to hand over a cell phone and became agitated during the discussion.

Campus security officials then escorted the student out of the classroom and to the Assistant Principal’s Office.

Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It was in that office that security officers noticed what appeared to be a knife clip in the student's pants pocket. Officers then searched the student and discovered a loaded handgun and what appeared to be a small amount of marijuana.

Campus security officials notified School Resource Officer Louie Brandt, who placed the juvenile under arrest. Police said a parent was notified and the student was taken to Juvenile Hall.

Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The incident was handled so quietly that other students lingering outside the high school on Friday afternoon had no idea anything was amiss.

The first hint of the incident surfaced when sources told Patch late Friday afternoon that a faculty meeting had been called after the school day ended to discuss the situation.

In their joint press release, San Leandro Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Cathey and Police Lieutenant Greg Lemmon said campus security officials had defused a potentially dangerous situation.

“The actions they took in this incident were swift and appropriate,” Lemmon said, praising the officers for “an excellent observation which led the recovery of a firearm on school grounds.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.