Teen Brings Stun Gun Into Manhattan School: Police

A 17-year-old boy was issued a summons after authorities said he allegedly brought a stun gun into his Manhattan school on Monday.

The teen was entering the High School of Arts and Technology on Amsterdam Avenue when a metal detector went off. A school safety officer did a search and found the weapon in his jacket, according to the NYPD.

The teen allegedly told police that he had no idea where the stun gun came from and that someone must have slipped it into his pocket over the weekend.

Authorities said the teen was charged with possession of an unauthorized device on school grounds, a misdemeanor.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education told NBC 4 New York in a statement, "Nothing is more important than the safety od students and staff. Students and staff are safe, and we are providing the school with ongoing support."

Gregory Floyd, president of the school safety officers union, Local 237, told NBC 4, "There has to be a different policy, there has to be a different approach because the honor system is just not working. The children are carrying weapons."

The union has been pressing for more metal detectors in schools, but some parent groups and advocates say they're now unncessary because of falling crime rates and condemn them as discriminatory since they often sit in schools serving minority neighborhoods. 

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