Beaumont High, Police Investigate Weapon Rumor, Student Recants, School Ready for Homecoming Football

Beaumont High School officials and Beaumont Police investigated a rumor Friday that a student saw another student with a weapon on Thursday, and the student recanted part of his story, including that he reported what he saw to campus security.

The student's parent, who on Thursday posted about his son's initial account on Banning-Beaumont Patch, said he was "mortified" because his son lied to him.

"The school did investigate with my son this morning," the parent said in a phone interview Friday afternoon. "I'm just mortified about this because he lied. He did not go to security. I'm not sure what his motive was but I'm going to find out when he gets home."

The parent initially posted on Patch using his real name, and has since changed it to avoid placing further scrutiny on his son.

The rumored sighting of a weapon came after two days of tension on and off campus at Beaumont High and on social media in the midst of Homecoming Week. Some students' fears raised many parents' concerns, which presented a challenge for administrators at Beaumont High.

"Beaumont High School takes all reports that could affect student safety, seriously," Beaumont High principal Marilyn Saucedo said Friday afternoon in an email to Banning-Beaumont Patch. "As you would expect, Beaumont PD, based on rumors, investigated the reports.

"The student who initially reported having seen a gun recanted his statement that he had reported the incident," Saucedo said. "The incident was never, in fact, reported to site security, site administration, or any adult on campus. After an interview with police, it was determined that inconsistencies in the student's story could not provide any valid information."

Earlier Friday, the high school's homecoming rally was "amazing and our kids were exceptionally well behaved," Saucedo said. "Looking forward to the game tonight."

Beaumont High hosts San Jacinto at 7 p.m. at Cougar Stadium.