UPDATE: Lincoln police talk about how they determine what is a threat at school

UPDATE:

Lincoln police said on Monday, they found a loaded handgun in a 15–year–old’s backpack at Lincoln Southeast High School after they had arrested him on suspicion of two car thefts.

Later that day, they said there was no threat to students or faculty because they didn’t find any indication that the student intended to harm anyone.

“In the follow-up investigation, there’s nothing to lead us to believe that he intended harm to any students or faculty,” Ofc. Angela Sands said.  “No threats were made, it was never displayed.”

Police said such warning signs usually come from peers or parents reporting them or from social media posts.

That doesn’t ease some parents’ fears though.

Elissa Grendahl said her son goes to Lincoln Southeast.

“Had it not been for the police department going to campus to interview that student on unrelated events, we will never know what might have happened,” Grendahl said.

She said she feels her son and others were in danger.

“The fact is a student made a decision to bring a loaded gun to school and the moment he stepped foot on that campus, he became a potential threat to not only students, but staff as well,” she said.

But LPD said in order for them to determine there was a threat, they would need to find that the student brought the weapon to school with the intent to do harm.

“Whether it’s a pair of scissors, a hammer, a sword, a knife — any type of weapon — the intent to do harm is what we’re looking for,” Sands said.

LPD said this isn’t the first time they’ve found a student possessing a firearm at school where the student forgot it was in their car or bag.

They said they’re continuing to investigate.

Grendahl said she’d like to see more accountability — not just for the student or whom the gun belonged to — but for our society as well.

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It’s something that would make any parent concerned.

Police found a student with a loaded gun at Lincoln Southeast High School Monday.

Lincoln Police said their message that there was not a threat means they found no reason to believe the student intended to do harm.

“Whether it’s a pair of scissors, a hammer, a sword, a knife — any type of weapon — the intent to do harm is what we’re looking for,” Ofc. Angela Sands said.

Police said in yesterday’s situation, they found a handgun in the 15–year–old’s backpack after they had arrested him on suspicion of two car thefts.  They said in order for them to determine there was a threat, they would need to find that the student brought the weapon to school with the intent to do harm.

“In the follow-up investigation, there’s nothing to lead us to believe that he intended harm to any students or faculty,” Sands said.  “No threats were made, it was never displayed.”

Police said such warning signs usually come from peers or parents reporting them or social media posts.

LPD said this isn’t the first time they’ve found a student possessing a firearm at school.  They said sometimes a student forget it’s in their car or bag.

They said they’re continuing to investigate.