18-year-old arrested after gun found in parking lot of Castle Rock school

DENVER (KDVR) -- An 18-year-old was arrested Friday after police officers in Castle Rock found a gun in a high school parking lot.

The Castle Rock Police Department said officers initially responded to a "disturbance in the parking lot where individuals in a vehicle were using a toy gun to shoot water beads at students" around 11:30 a.m.

Police said the vehicle was at Castle View High School to pick up a current student, and school resource officers responded immediately and contacted the vehicle.

"During their questioning, one of the passengers admitted there was also a real firearm in the car," the police department said in a post on X.

All of the occupants were detained and the police department said officers found an unloaded gun. An 18-year-old was booked into jail, and a juvenile suspect was released pending charges, police said.

The school was placed on secure status as a precaution, and police say there is no current threat at the school. The investigation is ongoing.