Crime & Safety

Nerf Guns at Cupertino High Draw 'Serious Consequences'

A false Code Red touched off Monday morning was the result of students' playing a Nerf gun game.

The students who will face school consequences, the principal said.

While relieved that the alert was false and the scare turned out to be students carrying Nerf guns, Kami Tomberlain, principal of Cupertino High School, said the incident caused great concern and violated the school’s “zero tolerance” policy on weapons. Real or fake, no weapon is allowed on campus, something which has been made clear to students on a regular basis, she said.

Tomberlain declined details on the punishment that will be handed down to students but said, “The consequences are serious.”

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The call to police came in around 8:25 a.m. and the incident was over in 12 minutes. Tomberlain sent out an email notice to parents notifying them that there was no further cause for concern. No citations or arrests were made in the incident, according to police.

“One of our custodians spotted a student crouched down behind a car in the parking lot, putting what appeared to be a weapon into his bag. We immediately went into a secure-in-place scenario and called the sheriff’s department,” wrote Tomberlain, principal at Cupertino High School in an email message to parents.

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The students engage in a Nerf game possibly called “Nerf Wars” or “Nerf Assassin” whereby the school campus is a “safe zone” but once a player steps off campus “you could be a target,” Tomberlain said.

Whatever the game is called, Tomberlain says it will no longer be a part of Cupertino High.

“No matter what happened in the past (with the game, the) game is over,” she said.


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