Arlington ISD student could face discipline for bringing pellet gun to school

A student at Sam Houston High School in the Arlington ISD could face disciplinary action from campus administrators after bringing a realistic-looking fake weapon to campus - and firing at a school employee.

Arlington police said they were called to the school around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. They were told that a student had brought an Orbeez gun to campus.

Those are toys that fire water pellets or gel beads, but have a very realistic design and look like real guns. They were the focus of a social media-inspired trend in 2022 and 2023 called the "Orbeez Challenge," in which kids would shoot strangers with pellet guns in public.

Police didn't say if the student at Sam Houston High School was participating in that trend. They did say the student fired a pellet at a school employee. That person was not injured and declined to press charges. Police said that means any disciplinary action will be up to school district administrators.

The incident followed two school shootings involving real weapons last month -- one at Bowie High School in Arlington and one at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas.

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