In an email obtained by the Alaska Landmine, Daniel Salazar, the Principal of Fire Lake Elementary, confirmed that a student had been caught with a loaded handgun earlier today.

According to the email, the student was showing other students a knife in his backpack on the bus ride to school. Another student reported seeing a gun in the backpack as well. When the kids arrived to the school, they informed their teacher what they had seen. The teacher then escorted the student to the office, where the backpack was secured. The School Resource Officer then inspected the backpack, and found the knife and loaded handgun.

The email stated that no students or staff were harmed. It also stated that APD was soon on the scene investigation what happened.

Here is the full text of the email:

Dear Fire Lake Parents,

I want to inform you about an incident involving two weapons (a knife and a loaded gun) that occurred this morning at Fire Lake Elementary. NO students or staff were injured, no weapon was discharged, and the weapons have been safely secured by APD. While this situation is still under investigation, here is what we know now:

During the morning bus ride, a Fire Lake student allegedly showed a knife in his backpack to other students. A student witness on the bus also reported seeing a gun in the backpack.

Upon arriving at the school, students on the bus immediately told their teacher at the beginning of the day what they had seen. The teacher then escorted the student in question to the office and secured the backpack.

We then called the School Resource Officer who responded immediately. Inspection of the backpack revealed a knife and a loaded handgun.

APD is currently on the scene talking to witnesses and investigating all the events related to the incident. To reiterate, NO students or staff were injured. We will continue to work closely with APD and provide more information as we learn more.

We want to thank our staff for their swift and appropriate actions and highly commend the students who came forward, as this situation is a perfect example of “if you see something, say something.” These students’ actions were extremely brave and showed tremendous poise and quick thinking.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,
Daniel Salazar
Principal – Fire Lake Elementary

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.