MESA, Ariz. — A Mesa High School student was found with a gun in their backpack soon after metal detectors at the school went operational, according to the Mesa Police Department.
The student, who was identified as Joseph Coops, 18, was immediately detained and questioned, officials said. An investigation confirmed Coops was not connected to any recent threats targeting the school.
Coops was charged with having a weapon on school grounds, carrying a deadly weapon under the age of 21 and possession of a deadly weapon, a felony.
Court records show Coops allegedly admitted to buying the gun through social media about seven months ago from an unknown person.
"The defendant stated since that time he has carried it with him nearly every day he has attended school at Mesa High School," records state.
When asked by police why he bought the gun, the suspect allegedly said he "just wanted to have one."
The student reportedly told police that he knew the gun would probably be found once he saw the school had installed metal detectors.
Investigators noted the gun's serial number had been scratched off and Coops acknowledged that wasn't "normal," records show.
Earlier this week, police increased its presence at Mesa High School due to a social media threat that was circulating online over the weekend.
Police received calls Sunday from parents about a possible threat targeting the East Valley school.
Mesa police said the threat originally targeted the prom on May 11 but the large police presence at the school event resulted in the threat changing to May 13.
The school district's security has assigned more staff to the Mesa High campus and detectives are continuing to investigate the threat.
Mesa Public Schools released the following statement about the incident:
Mesa High School launched its weapons detection system yesterday morning. The system located a firearm on a student attempting to go through the system to enter campus. While this student at no time threatened another student or staff member with a gun, they have been arrested and will be disciplined according to the Mesa Public Schools discipline procedures.
Safety is a top priority at Mesa Public Schools. Weapons have no place in our schools. The weapons detection system is another layer to MPS security measures. Our goal is weapons detection will deter anyone from bringing weapons on our campuses.
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