Advertisement Deputies: Calaveras HS students had loaded gun on school bus 2 teens arrested Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Two Calaveras High School students were arrested Friday after carrying a loaded gun onto a school bus, the district and the sheriff said Friday.Watch report: Calaveras HS students arrested after gun found on school busNo students were harmed, although they were taken off the bus as deputies sorted out what had happened.Officials said a teen on the bus somehow found out that someone had a gun, and the student reported it. The message was passed along to the bus driver."A number of students saw the firearm and called or texted their parents, and parents called the school," said Superintendent Mark Campbell.The driver stopped the vehicle and held everyone on board until deputies could arrive, according to a news release from the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department."The people on the bus were really scared because the bus was on lock down," a student said.Investigators searched the bus seat of a 17-year-old boy and founded the loaded weapon. The gun was taken and deputies arrested the student.Officials then learned another boy -- a 15-year-old -- originally brought the gun on board and must have passed it off to the older teen at some point, deputies said. The second suspect was arrested at the scene, as well.Deputies aren't sure what motivated the students, but officials said they don't believe the teens devised a plan to hurt any students or school staffers.It's not clear what type of weapon the students had, but some parents said they heard the gun was a Tek 9 -- a semi-automatic weapon.However, deputies would not confirm the type of gun because they don't want to jeopardize the investigation."If, in fact, it was that type of gun, those are designed to kill a lot of people in close quarters," said parent Wayne Hamblin. "They were on the bus, (and it) could have been real bad."The Sheriff's Department is investigating.The arrests took place just before 8 a.m., as the bus was stopped in front of another school near Calaveras High School.A parent contacted KCRA 3 on Friday morning, saying she learned of the incident from an alert sent out by the school's principal.A handful of parents have come to pick up their children early from the school, which is receiving a lot of calls, said Superintendent Mark Campbell, of the Calaveras Unified School District.Stay with KCRA and KCRA.com for the latest information.