A 15-year-old student was arrested after bringing an Airsoft pistol into Seymour High School Wednesday.
Airsoft guns fire tiny plastic pellets.
Police charged the student with brandishing a facsimile firearm, second-degree threatening, and breach of peace.
The student, a male, was lucky. The weapon looked like a .25 caliber gun. Police did not know it was an Airsoft device until officers checked the magazine clip.
Two students tipped off administrators about the weapon, police said.
The incident happened shortly after 1 p.m. and prompted police officers to descend on the school. Officers blocked vehicles from leaving or entering school grounds.
Meanwhile, the school went into lockdown.
“We came up with a strategy, if you will, to isolate the student,” said Lt. Paul Satkowski.
The student was found in a second-floor classroom and quickly apprehended.
Richard Kearns, the Seymour school district’s security director, said the student modified the Airsoft pistol by removing a bright orange cap from the end of the barrel — making it look all the more genuine.
The student allegedly told other students that he had the weapon and that he wanted to use it to hurt a female student, Satkowski said.
Satkowski said police interviewed students and staff members inside the school in an effort to determine what charges will be filed against the teen.
