KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A middle school student was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon on to the Bishop Hogan Middle School campus on Thursday.

According to police, the juvenile — unidentified due to his age — had an unloaded Glock 19 in his backpack. In the same pocket, police located a magazine with 13 live rounds. The juvenile told police he brought the gun to school for protection.

The student said he and another student had a verbal altercation and that the other student said he and his friends were going to return the next day with guns.

“It’s an incredibly difficult thing, especially with the age that they are,” said Bishop Hogan superintendent Danny Tipton. “They get made fun of if they are a snitch. But we try really hard to say that there is no such thing as snitches, and that it’s important that if you feel that something is wrong that you bring it to an adult.”

Tipton says that the school was never in lockdown over the incident. He says that the boy was removed from class and isolated until police arrived. Police say that the boy who was allegedly threatening the suspect did not have any weapons.

The boy told police that the gun belonged to his grandfather, and that his grandfather did not know he had it. He now faces a charge of carrying a concealed weapon in juvenile court.

Tipton says that under Missouri law, any student who carries a firearm to school must be expelled for at least 180 days. He declined to discuss any other penalties the boy might face at school.