Campus Police Find Gun On Tulsa Junior High Student; Three In Custody

Three Hale Junior High students are in custody after the district said police found a gun in one of their jacket pockets.

The alert went out both on the school district’s new phone app and by a letter sent home with students.

It was a close call, but parents are thankful nobody was hurt.

Tulsa Public Schools said it began Monday when a reliable source let campus police know someone had a weapon on school grounds.

The district said Campus police responded and found a small handgun in one student's jacket pockets. Officers immediately took three students into custody.

In a letter to parents, Hale Junior High School Principal Jody Parsons said he is grateful to TPS police for taking quick action to make sure all the students and teachers were safe.

TPS went on to say they take incidents like this very seriously and that safety is their top priority. But, in talking to some family members, there are still many things that can be done.

Deborah Markham has a grandson who attends Hale and said you can never be too safe.

“Metal detector at every school,” Markham said. “Need to be at the schools, need more officers to be at the school, house and pat the children down…what does that say, though? It’s a junior high school - pat ‘em down, pat ‘em down.”

And, if it wasn't for that reliable source that tipped off campus police, things could've been a lot worse.

“Don’t ever be afraid to go to the police,” Markham said.

As for the phone app, it’s free and the district urges all parents to download it.

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