Zip Gun Causes School Evacuation

KATY, Texas (AP) — A 19-year-old high school student is scheduled to appear in court on charges that he brought a weapon to his Houston-area school, prompting an evacuation and campus sweep by a bomb squad.
Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Haenel says Thomas Scott Barfield will appear in court Tuesday on a charge of possession of a prohibited weapon. He remains in custody at the Fort Bend County jail.

About 4,000 students at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, west of Houston, were evacuated Monday morning. Katy school district officials initially said a "potential explosive device" was found, and later explained the device was a zip gun. The district described a zip gun as "any device altered to propel an object designed to cause harm."

Classes at Seven Lakes resumed Tuesday.

Online:http://www.katyisd.org