Video: Student with gun puts Mt. Tahoma HS in lockdown

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TACOMA, Wash. – A suspended student at Mt. Tahoma High School showed up Monday anyway, carrying a loaded handgun, causing the school to go into lockdown.

Nobody was hurt at the school and the student was arrested.

Students were already in their classrooms for the lockdown when Tacoma police officers barged in with guns drawn and ordered students to put their hands on their heads.

Minutes earlier, a 15-year-old sophomore who was supposed to be home on suspension showed up. Tacoma police say the boy was carrying a loaded gun.

Police detained other students to make sure that the suspect's friends and potential enemies were not armed.

"All of our bags dug into. Pockets flipped out," said junior Viktojia Brannon. "I was in tears."

Police say securing the campus is what they're trained to do when anyone is found on campus with a gun.

"We want to plan ahead for this type of thing," said Det. Gretchen Aguirre, Tacoma Police. "We wanted to make sure there was no problem in the school."

While lockdowns are not routine, students at Mt. Tahoma know how to handle them because of their lockdown drills which happen about once every other month.

"There was no 'lockdown' when I was in school. No such thing. Just fire drills. Now this. Crazy," said parent Jimmy Kelly. He came to pick up his freshman daughter after she had been calling him, worried, every 10 minutes during the lockdown. Now, Kelly's the one who's worried.

"This is just ridiculous," said Kelly. "Something's gotta be done about these kids bringing guns to school."

A teacher spotted that student when he first arrived on campus realized he had been suspended and called security before the teen made it into any classroom.