Replica gun seized by police at Anchorage elementary school

Anchorage Police Department school resource officers Thursday seized a nonfiring replica gun brought to an elementary school by a student, according to an online alert.

Staff at Government Hill Elementary School alerted the officers around 1:30 p.m. to multiple student reports about a gun, police said. The officers confiscated what they determined to be an unloaded replica gun that was not capable of being fired.

“Whether it’s grade school, middle school or high schools, regardless of their age, students are in the best position to know when something is not right,” said Alan Brown, director of communications for Anchorage School District. “When we have students that are quick acting and tell adults quickly, that’s the way we resolve things safely."

Police said the student who brought the replica weapon to school was questioned and arrested. Brown said he or she was not in school during the investigation. Any disciplinary action from the school will be decided by administrators.

Charges were forwarded Monday to the Department of Juvenile Justice, police said.