– Teen brings gun to DeSoto High School
– Student not in district officials say.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
A teenager was apprehended last week for reportedly carrying a firearm to a DeSoto ISD school campus that he is not enrolled in, according to district officials.
The incident unfolded when two students at DeSoto High School engaged in a physical altercation in a hallway on Thursday, as per district spokeswoman Tiffanie Blackmon-Jones.
Upon being informed about the scuffle, campus security officers swiftly intervened to defuse the situation, leading to the lockdown of the campus for precautionary measures.
“As security personnel and campus officers cleared hallways and detained the involved students, security identified a person of interest who was a 17-year-old male that was not a student of DeSoto ISD,” Blackmon-Jones stated.
During a search of the teenager, who was confined in an enclosed office space, authorities discovered a firearm.
The individual taken into custody by DeSoto police has been identified as 17-year-old Semaj Burnett and is facing charges of unlawful possession of a weapon in a restricted area, according to law enforcement officials. It remains unclear whether Burnett has legal representation at this juncture.
The teenager was granted access to the campus by a student at the high school through a side entrance prior to the lockdown. Blackmon-Jones noted that Burnett managed to blend in with the other students due to it being a non-uniform free dress day at the school.
District authorities have not been able to ascertain which educational institution Burnett attends, and no outreach has been made to notify any other school entity regarding the situation, Blackmon-Jones added.
The student who facilitated Burnett’s entry into the school has also faced disciplinary repercussions, according to the district spokesperson.
In response to the incident, the district has mandated that all students adhere to DeSoto ISD’s standard uniform-based dress code for the remainder of the academic year to enable staff and security personnel to promptly identify individuals who do not belong on district premises.
The current academic year is scheduled to conclude on May 30, 2023, as per the district’s official website.
DeSoto ISD’s dress code policy prohibits students in grades six through 12 from carrying backpacks during the final two weeks of the school year. Additionally, the district will transition to requiring transparent backpacks for students in the upcoming academic year.
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– Teen brought gun to DeSoto High School
– Student not in district, officials say.
