Keller teen arrested for bringing loaded gun to school

KELLER, Texas - Fort Worth police say a Keller middle school student did the right thing by turning in a classmate who brought a loaded gun to school.

Police say a 15-year old student posted a picture of himself posing with a gun on Instagram and then brought it to Timberview Middle School on Tuesday where another student overheard him talking about it and prevented the situation from becoming much worse.

“We all hear about situations like this, and we all think the absolute worst,” said Fort Worth Police Officer Brad Perez.

It's a situation police and parents are thankful someone caught ahead of time after the teen brought a loaded .45 caliber handgun and extra bullets in his backpack. Another student overheard him talking about it and told a security guard who checked the bag.

“The gun was loaded and chambered. There was an extra magazine of ammunition,” Perez said. “He stated the reason he brought the gun to school because he didn't want it to be found in his room by his parent.

Police believe the gun belongs to the boy's parent. The student was arrested and charged with bringing it to school.

Police are not sure if the Instagram picture the boy posted Monday night shows him posing with the same gun or a different one. The post has since been deleted.

“He was asked about that by a school official,” Perez said. “But at the time, he claimed it was just a toy.”

In a letter to parents, the Keller ISD school said, "The student never directly threatened any other student or staff member with it nor was it ever removed from the student's backpack."

But parents, like Amanda Ezell who has a son in 6th grade, still have a lot of questions.

“There's something going on with this child. What pushed him to this point?” she said. “Is there a bullying situation that needs to be taken care of at the school?”

School officials and police say the student didn't blame or have a history of bullying.

As parents wait for more answers, Ezell hopes to use the incident as a learning tool for her own kids to report possible warning signs, no matter how small they may seem.

“If someone is talking about bringing a gun to school or they're obsessed with guns or have any intentions with a gun, that's not normal for a child,” she said.

Keller ISD denied FOX 4’s request for an on-camera interview. We also tried contacting the student's family, but they also did not want to speak to us.