Wu: Metal detectors to be reinstalled after guns found inside Charlestown High School

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Friday said that metal detectors will be reinstalled at Charlestown High School, just one day after two teenagers were arrested in connection with the discovery of a pair of firearms at the school.

Wu told reporters that the metal detectors were removed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent crowding issues at the entryway of the school.

“This was about the concerns about crowding and wanting to give additional space for the whole entryway to be used rather than having students crowding closer together,” Wu said. “I’m told that they will reinstalled.”

A staff member monitoring the halls of the school around 10 a.m. Thursday was asked to check on two students loitering in a fourth-floor bathroom, officials said. The staff member allegedly a student throw vaping materials into a trash can, brought him into a nearby office to search his backpack, and found a 9mm Glock handgun with eight rounds of ammunition.

The school was placed in “safe mode,” police were called to the scene, and a 13-year-old student was taken into custody, according to officials. About two hours later, a second 9mm Glock handgun was said to be found in an unattended backpack during a K9 sweep, leading to the arrest of a 17-year-old student.

“The building was swept with the K9 team and everything is safe and secure,” Wu explained. “There are trauma response teams available as well for all the young people.”

Wu stressed that the incident is unacceptable and that the safety of students is of paramount concern.

“I have two boys in the Boston Public Schools and it’s unfathomable,” Wu said. “We cannot make it such that our young people make dangerous decisions for themselves.”

The 13-year-old student was arraigned Thursday afternoon on a charge of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

The 17-year-old student was held without bail Friday morning in Boston Juvenile Court. He is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition and will be back in court on June 1 for a dangerousness hearing.

An investigation remains ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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