A pair of guns were found at Boston's Charlestown High School Thursday and two students were arrested, officials said, after an hourslong investigation that sent the rest of students home early.
The students are 13 and 17, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, which didn't name them.
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Police said Thursday afternoon that the first weapon, a loaded 9mm handgun, was found in the backpack of a 13-year-old student from Hyde Park. Staff initially searched the backpack for a separate issue — police said the student was reportedly loitering in a bathroom and staff spotted vaping materials in the trash. When the gun was found, the school was placed on lockdown.
The second weapon was found around 12:30 p.m. in an unattended backpack later determined to belong to a 17-year-old from Mission Hill. Investigators said that the 17-year-old student was seen entering the same bathroom where the 13-year-old student was found earlier in the day.
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Both suspects are scheduled to appear in Boston Juvenile Court on charges of delinquent to wit: unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm.
"The guns seized today in Charlestown High School present yet another reminder that this is not just a problem for police or for prosecutors or for school staff. It’s a problem for all of society, a problem that demands discussion in boardrooms and backyards and everywhere in between," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
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Officers were called to the school at about 10:10 a.m., Boston police said, after the first gun was found. The K-9 unit conducted a sweep of the entire building.
Classes were dismissed early. NBC Boston has reached out to Boston Public Schools for comment.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she was briefed on the situation Thursday afternoon and that there was a "rapid and thorough response" from school staff and police.
"As a mom, I am heartbroken that any of our young people would make the dangerous decision to carry a weapon, and am determined that each of our children will be and feel safe in our schools, on their commutes to school, and throughout our neighborhoods," she said.
