By Khalida Sarwari
Two Gunn High School students driving through campus this afternoon with an Airsoft gun prompted a nearly 45-minute lockdown at the end of the school day, Palo Alto police Officer Marianna Villaescusa said.
A city worker called police shortly before 2 p.m. to report seeing two men driving through campus with the passenger holding what appeared to be an assault rifle in his lap, Villaescusa said.
Upon arrival officers began searching the parking lot and found an unoccupied car matching the description they had been given.
The school was locked down at about 2 p.m. as officers searched classrooms for the two men.
Students preparing to go home for the day were ordered to return to classrooms and lock the doors, Villaescusa said.
Officers eventually found the car and worked with the Palo Alto Unified School District to identify its owner.
The two men were found together inside a classroom. They handed over the car keys and directed officers to the vehicle in the parking lot. The Airsoft gun was found in the trunk of the car, Villaescusa said.
The lockdown was lifted at about 2:45 p.m., she said. No one was harmed.
Officers determined the two men are both 18-year-old students at Gunn and took them into custody. They are being interviewed to determine if charges will be filed, Villaescusa said. The school is also considering disciplinary actions against the students.
Possession of an Airsoft gun, which resembles a rifle, in public is a municipal code violation in Palo Alto, Villaescusa said.
About 15 to 20 Palo Alto and Stanford University police officers responded.
During the incident, police received a report of a possible shooting in the Los Robles area, a street in the rear of the school, but officers were not able to find evidence, Villaescusa said.