Two students were arrested when police seized guns after a fight Thursday morning at Cooper High School in the Robbinsdale School District.
The New Hope Police Department responded to a “disturbance” at Cooper High School, which had been broken up by staff. The fight involved three students.
According the New Hope Police Department, two firearms were discovered in the backpacks of two of the students during an investigation. The guns were confiscated. New Hope Police and the Robbinsdale School District are actively investigating the incident.
The students are awaiting charges by the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, according to the New Hope Police Department.
An email to families from Cooper High School Principal Shaunece Smith said school officials “immediately responded” to the fight, isolated the students, and took them to the main office.
Smith called the incident “serious and troubling” but did not initiate a lockdown because the students involved had been isolated.
“Thankfully nobody was hurt,” Smith wrote in the email. “However, it doesn’t diminish the anxiety this news brings to our students, their families and our staff.”
According to Smith, student data privacy laws prohibit administration from sharing additional details.
“Please know our school takes every weapon-related incident seriously. We will follow the discipline guidelines outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook in regards to this incident,” Smith wrote in the email.
This is the second time in less than a month police have found a firearm at a New Hope school. North Education Center was placed on lockdown after a gun was found outside the school Oct. 25. There are no school resource officers at Cooper High School this year.
Sheila Qualls
Sheila Qualls is an award-winning journalist and former civilian editor of an Army newspaper. Prior to joining Alpha News, she was a Christian Marriage and Family columnist at Patheos.com and a personal coach. Her work has been published in The Upper Room, the MOPS blog, Grown and Flown, and The Christian Post. She speaks nationally on issues involving faith and family.
