A student thought to be skipping class was found to be armed and heading back to school to confront a bully, San Diego police said Monday.
A 15-year-old freshman at Serra High School was arrested last week and booked into juvenile hall after an unloaded semi-automatic handgun was found in his backpack as he was heading to campus, according to police.
Lt. Steve Behrendt tells NBC 7 San Diego that the youth informed detectives he was planning to confront another student who had been bullying him.
Behrendt said detectives detained the student and a friend near Serra High last Wednesday morning on suspicion of truancy, and that the youth volunteered that he was carrying a weapon.
Police said it was a 1911 military-grade .45 caliber sidearm that belonged to his late father, and was kept by his uncle in a lock box that the youth admitted breaking into.
According to Behrendt, the teen faces possible prosecution on a count of possessing a firearm on a school campus -- because he had previously dropped by De Portola Middle School to speak to a former teacher who was unaware of the weapon.