BOSTON -- A 16-year-old student was arrested Wednesday after he brought a pellet gun to a Westford school, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office.
The Nashoba Valley Technical High School principal noticed an "unwanted student" wandering the halls on a surveillance camera. Police said the teen entered the school through a rear door.
Students told NewsCenter 5 that said there was screaming and hysteria in the cafeteria as they dived for the floor and to hide under tables as the student brandished a 2- to 3-foot-long weapon.
"I heard the door slam, and we all looked back and we said, 'What is going on?' And then we saw the kid, and the kid got halfway through the door, and the kid got out his gun and the dean all of a sudden just yelled, 'Get down!' And we all got under the tables," one student said.
"We all got under the tables. Everyone was freaking out, crying," another student said.
The student was tackled to the ground by three faculty members, including Assistant Principal Matt Ricard.
"After the principal cleared the area and told me what was going on, I saw (the student) enter, I first went and closed the doors, and I looked back and saw that he was raising the weapon. I then thought to go inside and he started to lower it, and that is when we took him under restraint," Ricard said. Police recovered a pellet rifle at the scene.
Students said they think the teen is a sophomore at the school that had been suspended last week. His name has not been released. Police said it is not clear why the teen went to the school with the weapon.
The student will be arraigned in Juvenile Court in Lowell on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a pellet gun and disturbing a school assembly.
No injuries were reported, and no shots were fired, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The school was placed on lockdown and the students were dismissed early.
A car was towed from the school grounds after the incident.
School officials said counselors will be available to students and parents at the school on Thursday.
The Nashoba Valley Technical High School principal noticed an "unwanted student" wandering the halls on a surveillance camera. Police said the teen entered the school through a rear door.
Students told NewsCenter 5 that said there was screaming and hysteria in the cafeteria as they dived for the floor and to hide under tables as the student brandished a 2- to 3-foot-long weapon.
"I heard the door slam, and we all looked back and we said, 'What is going on?' And then we saw the kid, and the kid got halfway through the door, and the kid got out his gun and the dean all of a sudden just yelled, 'Get down!' And we all got under the tables," one student said.
"We all got under the tables. Everyone was freaking out, crying," another student said.
The student was tackled to the ground by three faculty members, including Assistant Principal Matt Ricard.
"After the principal cleared the area and told me what was going on, I saw (the student) enter, I first went and closed the doors, and I looked back and saw that he was raising the weapon. I then thought to go inside and he started to lower it, and that is when we took him under restraint," Ricard said. Police recovered a pellet rifle at the scene.
Students said they think the teen is a sophomore at the school that had been suspended last week. His name has not been released. Police said it is not clear why the teen went to the school with the weapon.
The student will be arraigned in Juvenile Court in Lowell on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a pellet gun and disturbing a school assembly.
No injuries were reported, and no shots were fired, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The school was placed on lockdown and the students were dismissed early.
A car was towed from the school grounds after the incident.
School officials said counselors will be available to students and parents at the school on Thursday.