INFORMATION RELEASE

JDHS in stay put after 16 year old female student brings a BB gun to school.

On 01/08/19, at about 1:30 PM, the Juneau Police Department received a report of a 16 year old female JDHS student who posted a photo on social media of a person holding a handgun. The photo appeared to have been taken in a bathroom, possibly at JDHS. The photo was approximately from the waist down, and was of an unknown person holding what appeared to be a handgun.

JPD officers contacted JDHS staff who confirmed the 16 year old female is a student at JDHS and was at school earlier that day. Officers went to the school and contacted the 16 year old female. Officers confirmed that the female was in possession of a BB gun, which appeared to be the same one from the photo. The female was detained and JDHS went in to a stay put mode while JPD officers continued their investigation.

Officers determined that the 16 year old female made no direct threats of harming anyone with the BB gun, but her actions of bringing it to the school and posting images on social media created a fear of people being injured and the school to go into a stay put.

The 16 year old female was placed under arrest for terroristic threatening in the 2nd degree, a class C felony, and taken to the Johnson Youth Center. Nobody was injured during this incident and there does not appear to be any danger to the community.

The Juneau Police Department would like to remind the community that bringing something like a BB gun to school can have serious consequences. Across the country there have been incidents of mass shootings and people on high alert for potential threats. Some BB guns, or similar items, can look realistic and place people in fear for their safety. Please make sure to leave items like this at home.