PHOENIX — A firearm and a BB gun were found Thursday morning at Cesar Chavez High School (CCHS) in two separate incidents.
At about 8 a.m., staff received a report of a possible weapon at the Laveen campus, located near 43rd Avenue and Baseline Road. Staff confirmed the report to be true and contacted law enforcement.
A student was placed in custody and the gun was secured, according to Phoenix Union High School District.
Students and staff resumed class, but not without another interruption.
At 11:30 a.m., the school was locked down as staff searched for a student of interest. During the investigation, they discovered a BB gun and secured it. The lockdown was lifted within a few minutes and Phoenix police again were contacted.
A spokesperson for the district said the two incidents are unrelated.
Jason Ramos said his son, a student at CCHS, texted him Thursday morning to let him know about the incidents.
"The first thing I asked him was, 'Where are you? Are you safe? Had they detained the student or students that were involved?'” he said.
Ramos said he expects incidents to happen occasionally but hopes for transparency on how the school protects its students.
“Parents should be notified as far as what kind of measures are taking place in the future to help prevent that kind of stuff. So, the progress of any future measures would be good," Ramos said.
Jacob Martinez, a gun safety advocate, said he'd like to see new laws making it harder for kids to take their parents' guns.
“It just shows that it’s too easy for kids to get their hands on guns," Martinez said. “The state legislature needs to just finally act and pass safe storage laws, saying that if there are kids under 18 in a house, they need to make sure it’s locked up and stored securely.”
A school spokesperson said the Phoenix police are investigating the incidents.
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How big is Maricopa County?:
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.