2 students charged in gun on campus case

Friendswood Police Department

Friendswood Police began investigating the possibility that a Friendswood High School student had a gun on campus when another student made a report on November 8 at approximately 1:00 p.m.  A 14-year old student allegedly showed another student a handgun hidden in his binder. A search was conducted at the school, but no gun was found. 

Later, at 6:30 p.m., the uncle of the same 14-year old boy reported a theft of a firearm.  The firearm was last seen in mid-October and was stolen from his Friendswood home.  The uncle knew his nephew was questioned about possessing a gun at school that day.

As Friendswood Police were following up with the owner of the firearm, school district officials continued to follow up with parents and at approximately 10:00 p.m., police received information that there were pictures of the stolen firearm on Instagram and a possible location of the weapon was obtained. Investigators were dispatched to the source of the Instagram post and confirmed the information.  They subsequently went to a residence in the Polly Ranch subdivision where they were able to recover the stolen weapon at approximately 1:30 a.m. on November 9.

During the investigation, the Instagram and Twitter accounts of the teens were examined. These accounts contained disturbing images and statements that manifest Columbine ideations and a fixation on school shootings.

The Friendswood Police Department took one juvenile into custody on November 10 at approximately 10:25 a.m.  The second juvenile was taken into custody at 12:15 p.m. Both teens are charged with Unlawful Carrying Weapons-Weapon Free Zone - a State Jail Felony. They were booked, processed and transported to the Galveston County Juvenile Justice Center in Texas City.

Police officials urge parents to be aware of their children's conduct on social media and to properly secure firearms in their residence.