Less than 24 hours after a mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 students and two teachers, police in the same state arrested a suspect walking towards a Richardson, Texas, high school, with what appeared to be a rifle.
The Richardson Police Department received a call at 10:55 a.m. from a business in the 1500 block of East Spring Valley Road reporting the juvenile male walking towards Berkner High School, they said in a press release.
Within minutes of the call, a number of officers from various units of the department arrived at the high school and began a search and investigation, police said.
The suspect was found inside the high school, located at 1600 East Spring Valley Rd., but no weapons were found.
However, further investigation led police to discover what appeared to be an AK-47-style gun and a replica AR-15-style Orbeez rifle inside a vehicle used by the suspect in the parking lot of 1551 East Spring Valley Rd.
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Officers were able to identify the suspect as a student of Berkner High School. He was arrested on a charge of unlawfully carrying weapons in a weapon-free school zone, which is a state jail felony.
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“No further information is being released on the suspect due to his age,” police said.
“The Richardson Police Department would like to remind the public of the importance to report suspicious activity, as we recognize the vigilant awareness and actions of the person who initially called 911 to alert law enforcement.”
Richardson is less than 370 km away from Uvalde. An AR-15-style rifle was also used in the Uvalde shooting.
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