Teens Bring Guns To Redondo High, Prompting School Cancelation

REDONDO BEACH, CA — For the second day in a row, a student at Redondo Union High School was arrested for bringing a gun to school, according to school officials.

At about 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, RUHS administration received an anonymous tip that a student on campus was in possession of a firearm, officials told parents in an email. According to the Redondo Beach Police Department, the 15-year-old ran from school staff, prompting officials to put the campus on lockdown.

Police officers were already on campus at the high school due to an identical incident that happened the day before and were able to quickly detain the student, authorities said. No shooting or discharge of the weapon occurred, RBPD said.

This is the second RUHS student to be arrested for bringing a gun to school within 24 hours. On Monday morning, authorities arrested a different teen for bringing a gun to school, stating they believed it was an isolated incident.

"The two back-to-back incidents are something we would never have imagined. We are going to need to work together to solve the issue of access to guns," RUHS officials said in a statement. "Understandably, our school community will demand and expect RBUSD to ensure student safety each and every day. Pointing fingers and placing blame is not the solution."

See related: Redondo Beach High Schooler Arrested For Bringing Gun To School: RBPD

Due to the two incidents, school at RUHS will be closed on Wednesday and will resume on Thursday, the school administration announced. While the campus is empty, police will conduct a review of the school's safety measures and will implement additional safety strategies going forward such as:

• Conducting a K-9 weapons and explosives sweep of the school while it is closed;
• Limiting entry and exit points on campus when school resumes to only three locations;
• RBPD officers and school administrators will be present at each entry point
• Increasing police patrols focusing on RUHS, but also including all campuses in the Redondo Beach Unified School District;
• Keeping the School Resource Officers on campus all day.

School officials will also hold an online meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning for the school community to discuss the two incidents and the new safety measures. Additional information about the meeting will be sent via email on Tuesday evening, officials said.

"RBUSD and RBPD are committed to working with our families, to provide whatever is necessary to keep this from happening again. The reality is, it can happen again, so we must work together," school officials said.

Both teens were arrested and transported to the Redondo Beach Police Department on suspicion of juvenile in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm on school grounds, possession of a high-capacity magazine, carrying a loaded firearm in public and possession of an unregistered loaded firearm.

Authorities said both cases will be prepared by investigators and forwarded to the Los Angeles County Probation Department for consideration of filing charges.

Anyone who may have additional information about either incident was urged to contact RBPD at 310-379-2477. Residents can also text 310-339-2362 or submit an anonymous tip at crimetips@redondo.org.