A Park Vista High School student accused of bringing a gun to school appeared before a judge Friday.
Police say Maxson Forest brought a handgun, several live rounds and a bag of marijuana into Park Vista High School in suburban Lake Worth Thursday.
Investigators say Forest told them that he bought the gun after getting beat up by several people at a party last week.
He’s charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds and possession of marijuana.
School district officials say police acted on a tip when they found the teen had a gun on him.
On Thursday evening, the school principal sent out a message to parents.
In the message, Reginald Myers says, "Shortly after school began we received a tip about a possible gun on campus. School district police were immediately deployed per standard protocol."
He continues to say, "Let me assure you that appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against this student."
He wraps it up by saying, "The school district has zero tolerance for weapons on campus. We take these matters very seriously."
Sue Dibean's daughter attends Park Vista High School.
"Oh my God, I was terrified. The last thing you hope to hear at your child's school is that somebody brought a gun. All the danger. You think a million things," she says.
Sue lived in Colorado when she was younger, and vividly remembers the deadly shootings at Columbine High School.
For her, the news hit close to home.
"It was scary. You don't know if this person has an agenda to hurt someone at the school-- a student, a teacher. I was concerned for everyone's safety."
She hopes things will change at the school to prevent something like this from happening again.
"My hope is that the principal and school officials will further investigate and take charge in keeping our children safe. If there's a place they should be safe-- it's at school."
The school district said no students were ever in immediate danger.
Some parents said they never got the message from the school on Thursday.
If you didn't get a voicemail, the district suggests you check with the school to make sure your information is up-to-date.
This applies to parents with students in all Palm Beach County schools, as well.
