KEARNY —
The Kearny Police Department offered the following account of an incident that took place at Franklin School this morning:
At 8:31 a.m., the KPD received a phone call from a concerned citizen who said he saw two school-age boys walking on Davis Ave. As they walked, one reportedly passed what appeared to be a handgun to the other.
Patrol, the Community Policing Unit and Juvenile Aid Bureau responded to the area of Franklin School to search for the two boys based on the description given them by the concerned citizen.
All of this was happening before the students went inside the school building — and contrary to rumors circulating on social media, the school was not locked down at any point.
Police ultimately found two boys matching the description — an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy.
Police said they were able to recover a facsimile of a semi-automatic handgun, similar to the ones issued to police, and it had an orange tip — which identifies the gun as a fake.
The KPD’s JAB was processing the two boys, who will reportedly be charged as minors.
More details to come as warranted.