Two students at Denton Guyer High School were taken into custody Friday after a gun was found inside a student's backpack, with one adult arrested and one juvenile detained, according to school officials. Denton ISD said the discovery began with a report that another student had made a comment about a gun, setting off a fast-moving response from campus staff.
According to CBS News, the school resource officer and campus administrators responded immediately after the initial report and were able to identify a second student connected to the situation. Denton police said a juvenile student was taken into custody while an adult student was arrested, and the arrest was made without incident. Denton ISD said the two students now face school discipline and possible criminal charges.
District officials emphasized that no known threats were made toward students or staff during the incident, and they credited the students who flagged the initial comment about a gun for prompting the quick response. Denton ISD also praised the school resource officer and campus administrators for how they handled the situation once it was reported.
A Pattern of Backpack Firearm Cases in Denton
Friday's incident is not the first time a Denton-area campus has dealt with a firearm turning up in a student's bag. An 18-year-old student at Fred Moore High School allegedly had a firearm in his backpack, according to a Denton Police Department news release cited by the Denton Record-Chronicle. That student, identified in the report as Reed, was arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and places weapons prohibited.
The same outlet has also reported on a separate scare at Guyer High School in which gun threats circulating on social media were ultimately deemed not credible by Denton ISD. In that case, the Record-Chronicle reported that a Mansfield student connected to the originating social-media post was taken into custody on a felony charge of making a terroristic threat.
Similar Scares Have Played Out Elsewhere in Texas
Firearm discoveries at Texas schools have led to broader lockdown-style responses in other districts this fall. At Willis High School, every student was required to pass through a metal detector and have their backpack searched after a gun was found on campus, per Click2Houston. One day later, two Willis students were taken into custody after making statements about having a bomb, with the station noting that incident came just one day after administrators found the gun inside a student's backpack.
State guidance also shapes how districts are required to respond once a firearm turns up on campus. The Texas Education Agency has said school systems must submit information about events requiring an emergency response, including the discovery of a firearm on a campus, through the state's Sentinel portal. Separate TEA discipline guidance states that districts, home-rule school districts and open-enrollment charter schools must expel a student who brings a firearm to school.
Denton ISD has not released further details on the specific charges the two Guyer students may face. CBS News Texas has said it plans to provide updates as more information becomes available.
