Gun found at White Station High

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - White Station High School was put on lockdown Thursday morning.

Memphis police say officers were called to the school after a report of an armed student.

“There were students who actually tipped off adults in the building,” said Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Spokesperson Jerrica Phillips. “They had heard the student had the weapon.”

That male student has been detained and the gun was recovered.

What Phillips told us is the student brought the gun to school because “he feared for his safety.”

“He actually felt the need, and this is reports, to bring a weapon to protect himself on his way home from school,” Phillips said.

There are no reports of any shots fired or any injuries.

MSCS says there was never a threat against students or staff. They issued this statement on the incident:

Outside the school Thursday morning and into Thursday afternoon, dozens of parents waited for answers: when the lockdown would be lifted and when they would be able to get their kid(s) out.

“All of those things flood through your mind,” said Mike Arnold, father of a White Station freshman. “You think about Buffalo. You think about what’s happened in Texas, and you pray that it doesn’t happen here in Memphis.”

“Man, it scares the s*** out of you,” Chester Tuggle, another father of a White Station freshman, said bluntly. “It really upsets you.”

Parents we spoke with were comforted to see the speed and amount of response from law enforcement to the school.

Despite the security already placed within White Station High School, both Tuggle and Arnold feel more can be done to ensure student safety in Memphis.

“I think all schools should have metal detectors,” Tuggle said. “I think all schools should have security at each door. I mean, we have the money to pay for it.”

“We’ve had plenty of thoughts and prayers. We appreciate that, but we need policy,” Arnold said. “There’s got to be some decisions made. Policy has to take place.”

We’re told White Station has resource officers and conducts daily, random walk-through and wand metal detection.

MSCS has also informed us of the resources they’ve poured into school security over the last several years.

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