Suspended student takes gel blaster on Fresno school bus, fires it toward driver, deputies say

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 15-year-old student who was suspended from Bullard High School in Fresno on Monday took a gel blaster on a Fresno Unified school bus on Tuesday and fired it toward the driver – before bailing out of the bus and running away, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say at around 8:00 a.m. a student fired the gel blaster toward the driver and it struck the windshield on the bus. The bus was heading to Bullard High School at the time. Officials say when the driver pulled over, the teen with the gun jumped out of a window and ran. No injuries were reported.

According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the gel blaster was loaded with gel balls, and the gel blaster was passed around the bus prior to being fired.

The student was later located on the campus of Bullard High School. Officials say he was suspended on Monday for firing a gel blaster on campus. He was somehow able to board the bus on Tuesday and try and make his way back to school.

The student did not have a gel blaster on him when he turned himself in, deputies say, but he did leave a similar one behind on the bus in a backpack that was recovered.

The case is being handled by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office as the area where the bus pulled over is a county island. The identity of the student involved has not been officially released.

Officials add that the 15-year-old has been booked into juvenile hall on 13 counts of assault and battery. The water-based gel balls the gel blaster was loaded with struck 13 students, deputies say.

In a statement, Fresno Unified School District officials say they cannot give out discipline specifics on students – but this person was aware they shouldn’t be reporting to campus, adding that there is no ID scan system for students getting on the buses.

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