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Platt High School increases police presence after 2 students allegedly brought prop gun to school

MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — There will be added police presence at Platt High School on Wednesday after two students allegedly brought a prop gun to school.

Meriden Police were called to the school around 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday. Police believe a video posted on social media was filmed inside the school, showed a student holding a gun.

As police searched the school for the two suspects, Platt High School was placed on lockdown for several hours, causing panic and concern among students and families. The two teens were inside the school but had not reported to either of their classes.

Corey Rogers, a Platt High School student, told News 8, “I could have been next to them, or I could have been with them, so it was scary.”

Elisabeth Cleveland, whose brothers were in the school, said, “You hear all this stuff from inside and you can’t do anything about it. You can’t help them!”

Police found the two suspects, 16-year-old and 15-year-old boys, in the school’s auditorium along with a prop gun.

The teens were arrested and charged with breach of peace.

Yvette Black, a Platt High School parent, said, “It’s your worst nightmare! Your kids are locked down; there’s a possibility of everything.”

“I came down here to see what was going on, and then I’m hearing all the rumors and stories that it was something pertaining to a gun,” Lisa Giblin, another Platt parent, said. “It was very alarming to hear as a parent.”

“I was in constant text message [communication] with my son and knew he was safe, so that’s all that matters,” parent Jessica Lacomb added.

No one was injured, and classes resumed after the lockdown was lifted.

Meriden School officials say it was the swift action of one student that led police to resolve this as quickly as they did.

Daniel Morisse-Corsetti, principal at Platt, explained, “We found out about this because a student reported it, because they trusted an adult, that was an important piece that started this in motion.”

This incident comes on the heels of another incident at the school; a taser was found in a student’s backpack.

“We apprehended the girl, we apprehended the backpack, we contacted the parents immediately and the child was issued consequences,” the principal said.

And in Hamden, two students in that district are under arrest after police say they got into a fight near Hamden High School on Monday. Police say, during that fight, one student stabbed another in the back. That student is expected to be OK.

The investigations into these incidents are ongoing.