Des Moines police said a 14-year-old East High School student is in custody after being found with a hand gun in his backpack Monday morning.Sgt. Paul Parizek said the School Resource Officer at East was alerted by other students and intercepted the teen outside of the school building.He was also found to have a knife in his backpack. The student told officers the incident is part of an ongoing dispute with another student, and the student had the gun for protection.East High School Principal Leslie Morris sent the following message to parents:"Dear East families, This morning our School Resource Officer received a tip that a student may be coming to school with a weapon. The student was identified and intercepted outside the building. The student admitted there was a weapon in his backpack, and he turned over a knife and a gun. Police are now working with the student. "The learning day was uninterrupted and our students and staff were never in any danger, but I wanted you to be aware as soon as possible because the media will be talking about it. There have been questions from parents about a lockdown. "The event was over so quickly, there wasn’t a need to disrupt the learning day or scare students unnecessarily."The student has not been identified.

Des Moines police said a 14-year-old East High School student is in custody after being found with a hand gun in his backpack Monday morning.

Sgt. Paul Parizek said the School Resource Officer at East was alerted by other students and intercepted the teen outside of the school building.


He was also found to have a knife in his backpack.

The student told officers the incident is part of an ongoing dispute with another student, and the student had the gun for protection.

East High School Principal Leslie Morris sent the following message to parents:



"Dear East families,

This morning our School Resource Officer received a tip that a student may be coming to school with a weapon. The student was identified and intercepted outside the building. The student admitted there was a weapon in his backpack, and he turned over a knife and a gun. Police are now working with the student.

"The learning day was uninterrupted and our students and staff were never in any danger, but I wanted you to be aware as soon as possible because the media will be talking about it. There have been questions from parents about a lockdown.

"The event was over so quickly, there wasn’t a need to disrupt the learning day or scare students unnecessarily."

The student has not been identified.