Gun found in Fresno student’s backpack, police say

A gun was found Tuesday morning in the backpack of a student at a southeast Fresno charter school, police reported.

Lt. Mark Hudson identified the school as Ambassador Phillip V. Sanchez school, located near East Kings Canyon Road and South Phillips Avenue.

He said the incident was reported by school officials after the student was involved in a fight. It began when the boy, a high school student, and at least one other student went off campus to settle a personal dispute. When a school official went out and broke up the scuffle, the student told her he needed to return to a classroom to retrieve his backpack, hanging from a chair. However, the official said that she would get it for him.

When she looked inside the backpack, she discovered the .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol and locked it in an office. The student then ran from the campus and was at large Tuesday afternoon.

Hudson said the weapon did not have a round in the firing chamber, but apparently it did have ammunition in its magazine. The weapon appeared to be old and rusty and Hudson said police were still determining whether it would fire.

This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 12:09 PM.