A 13-year-old boy is in custody after allegedly trying to enter a Wisconsin elementary school while armed before being scared off when confronted by staff, according to authorities.

The Kenosha Police Department said the boy walked into a secured area of Roosevelt Elementary School with suspicious bags Thursday morning and was approached by a school staff member before fleeing into the neighborhood, forcing the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) into a secure hold.

“The only reason the individual was not able to fully enter the school was because of the quick and diligent actions of the school staff,” Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said during an afternoon news conference.

Police said they received several tips about the suspect being in the area, which ultimately led to them locating the KUSD student around 2 p.m. Officers were able to convince the teenager to surrender before he was arrested. Investigators also learned the boy “performed multiple internet searches related to school shootings.”

“This is something that had been told to people of his growing intentions,” Patton added. “We know that there is internet searches and all the red flags that we would look for and expect someone to report were there. We’re coming up towards saying we narrowly missed a tragedy today, and we’re just going to re-encourage everybody: When they see something, say something, help us out. Have those talks with your children. This video shouldn’t have been seen by us today. This should have been reported to us earlier.”

Police played a video at the news conference showing the student holding what investigators believe is a rifle as he appears to practice “room-entry techniques,” Patton stated.

KUSD Superintendent Jeff Weiss told reporters the suspect “actually tried numerous outside doors and entrances before coming around to where our secured entry is.”

So far, police have not identified the boy or said how he obtained a gun.

Kenosha made national headlines in August 2020 after a white police officer shot a Black man during a domestic disturbance, leaving him paralyzed. The shooting spurred several nights of protests. A white Illinois teenager named Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people during the unrest, killing two of them.

The shootings became a flashpoint in the national debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice. A jury eventually acquitted Rittenhouse of any wrongdoing after he argued he fired in self-defense.

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