A Lincoln High School student who brought a ghost gun onto the campus locked himself in an administrative room Tuesday after being confronted by campus police and refused to surrender for more than an hour, prompting a SWAT standoff that ended in his arrest.
The gun scare at the secondary school in the 4700 block of Imperial Avenue began at about 2:30 p.m., according to the San Diego Police Department.
After being brought to the principal’s office for questioning regarding reports that he had brought a kit-built, unserialized handgun to school, the suspect — believed to be 16 years old — managed to lock himself in the room and would not come out, San Diego Unified Police Department Capt. Alfonso Contreras told reporters.
The student refused repeated orders to surrender, prompting police to send in a SWAT team, SDPD Officer John Buttle said.
The stalemate ended about 3:45 p.m., when an officer stunned the suspect with a beanbag-shotgun round, according to San Diego police. The boy had a ghost gun tucked in his pants when he was taken into custody, SDPD public-affairs Lt. Adam Sharki said.
While describing the incident as “very disturbing,” Contreras noted that it could have been a lot worse.
“We were able to safely take the student into custody and recover a firearm on our campus,” he told news crews.
Counselors will be available to support students and staff members this week, according to a statement from San Diego Unified School District.
Updated at 6:22 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, 2022
City News Service contributed to this article.