Text Message May Have Averted School Shooting

A tragedy may have been averted all thanks to a text message.

Two Delaware high school students were arrested for bringing a gun to school Monday, but the way officials learned of the weapon may surprise you.

The teens, 16 and 17, were checking out the handgun in a classroom at Newark High School when another student caught a glimpse of the weapon, according to police.

That teen then text messaged a friend at another area high school, telling them of the weapon.

"That text message made its rounds and then came back to the high school administration and our school resource officer," Delaware State Police Cpl. Gerald Bryda told NBC10's Mike Strug.

Police then descended on the classroom and conducted a search of each student's person. When nothing turned up, officers turned to the room.

They first came across a gun magazine with three bullets inside hidden under some papers on a desk. Then officers found a .09 handgun in a book bag.

The gun was missing its magazine, but a bullet was in the chamber.

Bryda said the student who sent the text "quite possibly averted a school shooting situation."

The teens said they brought the gun to school for self-defense.

Both teens were charged. One was taken to the juvenile detention center. The other was released to his parent's custody.

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