A “hero” dog reportedly found a backpack containing a gun and ammunition at Aptos High School in Aptos, California, on Sunday morning.
Bystander Mikey Perez was going for a walk with his dog, Bear, near Aptos High School — about 30 miles south of San Jose — when his furry companion sniffed out something unusual, according to a report by KSBW.
“He stops, and he points this way and does the pointer thing, and I’m like, ‘What is it, boy?'” Perez told the outlet, recalling the moment Bear stopped him on their daily walk.
“He was pointing,” Perez added of his dog. “I thought it was going to be a Mountain Lion or something. He put me on alert.”
But as Perez moved closer, he saw what appeared to be a black backpack.
“I saw the corner of something that was black, and he just went over to it, very cautiously,” he said. “I grabbed a stick and just kind of went and peeked around and saw it was a backpack, and I felt something heavy, and it was a magazine.”
“This thing was modified, fully auto,” the bystander continued. “Everything on it was grinded off. It may have even had a 3d printed buffer to make it fully auto.”
Perez — who is now calling his dog a “hero” — speculates that the firearm could have been hidden from a bank robbery, or worse, for a potential school shooting.
“This little guy, he’s an angel,” he told KSBW. “We never look this way.”
Additionally, a ski mask was also found just a few feet away from the backpack.
The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department says they are still investigating the matter.
“We just want to express to the community that we do know this is very concerning,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ryan Farotte told KSBW.
“It is something that we are continuing to work on,” Farotte added. “We responded immediately, and we want to put a reassurance out there that the schools within Santa Cruz County, the children, the staff, is all a great concern to us.”
The sheriff’s department added that they would increase police presence at Aptos High School on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office provided an update to the community, announcing that a juvenile suspect believed to be connected to the gun, ammunition, and mask has since been arrested, KSBW reported.
Authorities explained that they discovered a fight had occurred near Aptos High School during winter break, outside of school hours, and that the altercation involved firearms.
They also noted that the juvenile arrested in connection to the incident is not a student at Aptos High School.
“Based on the proximity and surrounding circumstances, investigators believe there is a strong probability that the firearm located on campus on Sunday is connected to the winter break incident,” the sheriff’s office’s update said.
“However, because the safety of children is paramount, detectives are not ruling out any other possibilities,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office added.
Authorities also noted that a larger law enforcement presence will remain at the school until investigators are confident there is no ongoing threat.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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