School officials: Student found with 'airsoft BB gun' at Apex Middle School

A student at Apex Middle School was found to have a weapon on campus Monday.

In an email obtained by WRAL News, the principal of the school said an “airsoft BB gun” was found in a student's backpack.

The email states a student reported concerns about a possible weapon in a student's backpack; School administrators and law enforcement immediately investigated, according to the principal’s email.

No one was injured.

It's the latest incident to bring safety protocol into question.

For Kelly Mulligan, a Wake Schools parent, its a scary situation.

"It's scary, definitely scary," Mulligan said. "It makes me nervous as a mom."

Tim Shipman, who does security consulting for area schools systems, said weapon detection systems might have caught the student bringing in the weapon.

"It's a technology that will see the weapon in the bookbag or that person and identify," Shipman said. "Whereas a metal detector just detects metal and slows the process."

A spokeswoman with Johnston County Public Schools told WRAL News the district is in the preliminary stages of getting state of the art upgrades in place by the end of the 2023 school year.

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WRAL News is working to find out if any charges will be pursued in the case at Apex Middle and if the school district is considering bringing weapons detection systems to the state's largest school system.

For Mulligan, it should be a top priority.

"It's a matter of safety for our children," Mulligan said. "It's definitely something that should be done."