A staff member discovered a firearm concealed in a student’s athletic locker at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting involvement from the Atherton Police Department (APD).
According to a public statement from the APD on Thursday, the staff member observed two students place an item inside an athletic locker while intentionally blocking the staff member’s view. After the students left, the staff member opened the locker and found the weapon. Staff immediately notified M-A School Resource Officer Dimitri Andruha, who confiscated the firearm and began an investigation.
Charges have since been filed, including possession of a firearm on a school campus, minor in possession of a handgun, and possession of a firearm without a serial number. However, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the Almanac that as of Thursday, no charges have been taken to court and no students are in custody.
According to the APD, the firearm was never brandished on campus, and there were no known threats to the campus or local community. The school did not initiate its lockdown procedure, as the firearm was immediately secured.
Principal Karl Losekoot first communicated with parents on Thursday afternoon, more than a full day after the incident. “We delayed communication about this event to give both Atherton PD and the school time to properly investigate the situation,” he wrote in an email to parents.
“We have identified the students connected to this situation and are taking all appropriate and necessary actions as allowed by the law,” Losekoot wrote. He also stressed that the weapon never posed an immediate threat to M-A students. “We can report that there were no known threats made towards the M-A community or towards any individual in the community.”
Although parents received direct communication from Losekoot, students were not informed. “I also want families to know that we are not currently sharing this information with students,” he wrote.
Losekoot provided several options for distressed students, citing Sandy Hook Promise’s Say Something tipline and PAWS as available resources.
In an email sent to the M-A Chronicle, Losekoot declined to comment on the situation but expressed his gratitude for staff members and reaffirmed his commitment to supporting students. “We want students to know that the campus community is here to maintain our safety but also to support students through difficult situations,” Losekoot said.
Still, students expressed fear and confusion over the lack of communication. “I was pretty scared. I was even more concerned that they were hiding it from the students and only sent it to the parents. It’s surprising to me,” an anonymous freshman said.
“I heard about it yesterday [Thursday], around 2:30, when my dad forwarded it to me. My initial reaction was to check Canvas to see if we got that announcement, and we didn’t,” an anonymous junior said.
“It was scary. It’s kinda weird to know that like my day on Wednesday could’ve went so wrong like out of nowhere. I feel like we live in too good of an area for something like that to happen,” another anonymous freshman said.
The incident is the latest in a pattern of many firearm-related incidents on campus. In September 2025, M-A went into secure campus following a gun threat from a student. In November 2022, an M-A student was arrested for carrying a firearm on campus, and less than a month later, in December that same year, a second student was arrested for carrying a firearm.
Contact the APD at 650-688-6500 with any information that could assist their ongoing investigation.
