On Friday afternoon, Phoenix Police Department officers arrested a juvenile student in possession of an AR-15 and additional ammunition at Bostrom High School, an alternative high school that is part of the Phoenix Union High School District.
According to the Phoenix Police Department, on May 19, 2023, at about 12:54 p.m., officers from the Maryvale Precinct as well as two School Security Officers (SSO’s) were called to Bostrom High School located at 3535 North 27th Avenue for a “student with a gun” call.
When they arrived, officers detained the male student in the school’s main office. The student was found to be in possession of a semi-automatic rifle. Additional ammunition was found in the student’s backpack and lunch box.
Earlier this month, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne called on the State Board of Education to approve school safety grants requested by six Phoenix Union High School District schools for armed campus officers (SROs).
Horne made the recommendation despite the district’s governing board’s decision to not have law enforcement officers on district campuses.
The schools submitting grant applications are Cesar Chavez, Maryvale, Metro Tech, North, South Mountain and Trevor Browne high schools.
According to Horne, the Arizona Department of Education has previously received reports of students at Phoenix Union bringing guns and drugs to school.
The Phoenix Police Department says it is working closely with school and district officials as the investigation of this latest incident continues.
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