A Stadium High School student was arrested Wednesday after allegedly bringing a homemade fireworks to school, Tacoma police said.
The boy was showing the device to another student about 9:30 a.m. when someone reported it to a teacher, police said.
With the recent mass shooting at a Connecticut school on everyone’s mind, principal Kevin Ikeda erred on the side of caution and evacuated students.
Tacoma police’s bomb squad swept the campus and determined there was no threat. The boy did not have plans to detonate the device and did not threaten anyone, police said.
“A friend gave it to him to fire off on New Year’s Eve,” department spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
The student who brought the fireworks to school was expelled, district spokesman Dan Voelpel said.
Stadium students said the school fire alarm went off during morning classes.
Most students evacuated to the performing arts building – a separate structure from the main school building – while others gathered outside. Students who waited outside said they were asked to move farther away from the school.
Students returned to class after Tacoma police determined that the school was secure.
Several students said they first assumed the fire alarm was a prank on the last school day before winter break, but Stadium junior Alex Moreno said teachers quickly explained that the evacuation was no joke.
Stadium parents received a phone message from the school shortly after 10 a.m., and one girl said she knew the incident was real after her mom called her.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653 stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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