MANDEVILLE, La. (WGNO) — A student in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System was taken into custody after boarding a school bus with an airsoft gun.

On Friday (Feb. 10) morning, deputies say a concerned citizen alerted the sheriff’s office that a student at a nearby bus stop appeared to have a gun in their possession. The school board was alerted and the bus was identified, located and stopped at the intersection of Mire Drive and La. Highway 59.

The airsoft gun was found in the possession of a 14-year-old student along with a small container of airsoft pellets. The student says he was returning it to the student he barrowed it from.

“The safety of our schools and your children is of the utmost importance to us. We will continue to work with our school system to make sure a safe environment is provided for every child to learn and to travel to and from school. While many consider an airsoft gun to be a toy, they are in fact weapons and can cause damage and injuries. They also oftentimes look very similar to and can be mistaken for more dangerous guns and will therefore be treated as such.”

Sheriff Randy Smith

Due to school bus stops being an extension of the school the student was issued a summons for Terrorizing or Menacing and released to a parent on the promise to appear at an appointed court date.