EDMONDS — A teen who reportedly waved around a handgun at the Edmonds Woodway High School campus Tuesday claimed the weapon wasn’t real.
The same can’t be said for the trouble he faces, including a potential felony assault charge.
The 18-year-old is suspected of bringing the handgun to school in his backpack and then displaying it to others while in a school bathroom.
School officials called police just after noon Tuesday. They’d been alerted by other students who reported seeing a video of the incident that one of the witnesses had shared on social media.
The teen suspected of bringing the weapon to school had already left campus when police arrived.
Officers reviewed the video and spoke with three other young men who were in the bathroom, according to a police report filed in Everett District Court. Each of the witnesses said the teen had pulled what they believed was a real handgun from his backpack, and that he’d pointed it at them, pretending to shoot and rob them.
One of the boys told police “the gun looked very real and he was scared for his life,” the report said.
The video shows the suspect holding the gun and “waving it around in the bathroom,” officer Patrick Clark wrote. The teen “inadvertently pointed it at just about everyone in the bathroom in the process and was seen laughing.”
Police in Edmonds and Everett teamed up on the case. Everett officers took the suspect into custody a few hours later in north Everett.
The teen reportedly admitted that he pointed the gun at least one of the other boys, but he said it was a replica, not a real weapon.
The gun believed to have been used in the incident was recovered later, also in Everett, Edmonds police Sgt. Josh McClure said.
“It was determined not to be a firearm but an air gun with an authentic appearance,” he wrote.
The teen was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault.
Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan praised the students who came forward after seeing the video.
“Their actions allowed school and police officials to quickly work together and address this extreme safety concern,” he said.
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