HOUSTON – An Alief Independent School District high school student is accused of bringing a loaded gun onto campus, district officials said.
Lekie Ken Kponi, 17, was arrested Friday by district police after they said they received a tip that he was showing a gun clip to other students at Elsik High School.
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District officials said that after school around 3 p.m., a campus police officer stopped Kponi outside the school's gym because he matched description given by the tipster.
Kponi willingly surrendered to a patdown and that's when the officer discovered the loaded .40-caliber pistol in his jacket pocket.
"There could've been someone shot that same day," classmate Rodrigo Munoz said. "We were right here at school and you never know, someone could get injured. There could've been a tragedy."
A district spokesman said no students were injured and the gun was never fired.
Police said Kponi told officers that he went home after school, got the pistol, then returned to school. No word why he brought the loaded gun back to the school.
Kponi has been in trouble with the law before; very recently, in fact.
According to court records, Kponi pleaded guilty in January to discharging a weapon in the backyard of his southwest Houston home.
For that offense, Kponi served 15 days in jail before being released. He's currently in the Harris County Jail with a $30,000 bond.
Alief ISD officials said Kponi has been expelled from school.