Lynn English High School student arrested for bringing toy gun into school

LYNN, Mass. — A 14-year-old Lynn English High School student is facing charges after police said he brought a realistic-looking toy gun into class Tuesday, resulting in a lockdown and partial evacuation of the building.

“The gun was all black and described as something where the trigger didn’t even pull. But from a distance it looks real,” Lt. Michael Kamiec said.

Police are not identifying the student because he is being charged as a juvenile. An image of the boy brandishing the toy weapon while seated at a classroom desk circulated on Snapchat Tuesday morning, students said. Freshman Eliana Correa said the boy may have been trying to retaliate and scare another classmate.

“He brought it to shoot someone about a girl or a guy who was pressing him yesterday,” she said. “We were scared that [a gunman] was going to come to our class.”

Kamiec didn’t say why the student brought the gun into class or what his intentions may have been. He’s charged with Threat of Dangerous Items and Possession of Alcohol Under 21 because the student had alcohol in his backpack, Kamiec said.

“As a parent, my heart was racing, scared,” Eliana’s mother, Natalie Correa, said.

Correa is frustrated because she said she didn’t get a call from the school district until around 1:30 p.m., more than three hours after police we first notified.

“How do we know as parents that it was real or not. We don’t and then to hear it from other children, not the principal, not any school committee, is really sad,” she said.

Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said the district handled the situation properly.

“This incident highlights the importance of vigilance, practicing emergency procedures, and the school/police partnership…I commend the LPD and the entire English High School community for the proper handling of this situation,” Tutwiler said in a statement to Boston 25.

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