A student allegedly discharged “a possible firearm” inside a classroom Wednesday morning at Westside Global Awareness Magnet in Marina del Rey, school district officials confirmed.
There are no reports of injury. The campus briefly went into lockdown.
Law enforcement sources reported that the student was a 13-year-old boy and that the gun went off accidentally, possibly from inside a backpack, between 8 and 8:30 am.
A Los Angeles Unified message to parents did not specify the age or gender of the student or the precise time of the incident:
“Today, a student allegedly discharged a possible firearm inside of a classroom and thereafter fled the campus,” according to a message that went out at 10:40 a.m. “No students or staff were injured. The campus has been swept by law enforcement and the lockdown has been lifted.”
In the message, officials said they “took immediate action, including notifying the Los Angeles School Police Department and Region West Operations for further investigation.”
The parents of the “impacted students” have been notified, according to the district message.
As is typical in such situations, L.A. school police will be providing “on-campus support and extra patrols for the remainder of the week,” the message said.
Counseling services also will be available.
The school also has scheduled a parent meeting on Zoom at 4 p.m. today.
An earlier message, sent out at 9:11 a.m., alerted parents that “there was a situation on campus that per District Policy resulted in … going on lockdown. Students and staff are safe. School Police and District are on campus. There is no imminent threat to any student at this time.”
Westside Global Awareness Magnet SPAN school serves grades K through 8 and describes itself as a “small, family-friendly campus, nestled between the Venice Beach shoreline and the Ballona Creek wetlands. … Westside students utilize the surrounding environments of ocean and wetland to enhance their academic explorations in all classes, including physical education.”
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