BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Manatee County School District has moved up a no-backpack policy for the end of the school year after an incident Tuesday.
- Student, 16, charged with having gun on campus
- Incident was at Bayshore High School
- School district had no backpack policy in place, moved up for last days of school
- Manatee County Schools
According to school officials, a student was arrested Tuesday after bringing a loaded gun to Bayshore High School.
The School District had already been informing students and parents at all district middle and high schools that there would be a no-backpack policy in place for the last three days of school. That policy was implemented for security reasons and because those days would be early release days.
After Tuesday's incident, in which a 16-year-old sophomore was taken into custody after having the loaded weapon in his waistband, the district moved up the policy to Wednesday.
That change only applied to Bayshore High, not to any other district middle or high school.
The teen has been charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, carrying a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
There were no injuries.
District officials also said all Manatee District middle and high schools have metal-detecting wands.
They are used at those schools, but not on every student every day. An exception was made Wednesday at Bayshore High where every student was wanded.
Backpacks were confiscated, wanded and placed in a secure location until the end of the school day.
Meanwhile, armed law enforcement officers remain on all Manatee County schools with two at each of the county's six high schools.