NYC Student Arrested After Bringing Gun To School, Made Social Media Threat: NYPD

QUEENS, NY — A 16-year-old student was arrested after bringing a gun to a Queens school and allegedly threatened to "shoot the school up," police officials disclosed on Thursday.

The student allegedly made the threat in an Instagram post around 10:17 a.m. on Thursday, threatening to shoot up Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

"We are breathing a sigh of relief because Cardozo High School students and staff are all safe," Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference. "Earlier today, a 16-year-old student was arrested with a gun after posting on social media that he was going to 'shoot the school up.'"

The FBI first noticed the social media post, who then contacted the NYPD at 11:33 a.m., according to Tisch.

Police then arrived at the school around 11:45 a.m. The 16-year-old student was removed from his class and taken into custody.

Officers found a black, semiautomatic handgun, a 9mm Taurus GX4, in the boy's backpack. The gun was loaded with 13 rounds in the magazine.

Cardozo is not a scanning school, and had no reported gun-related incidents in the last year.

"I'll be honest. As a mother of two young school-age boys, I am shaken. But as your police commissioner, I am resolute in ensuring the NYPD does everything in our power to keep our children safe," Tisch said. "I have a message for all parents today. While this incident is terrifying, it is an example of the law enforcement apparatus at the federal and local levels doing everything right. It is literally the system, our protocols, our training and our processes working just as they should."

No one was injured in the incident. An investigation remains ongoing.