A deputy with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office confiscated a loaded revolver from a student at Righetti High School in Orcutt on Monday afternoon. 

At approximately 1:30 p.m., a Righetti staff member alerted the on-campus school resource deputy about a male student who was possibly smoking marijuana in a bathroom on the campus.

The deputy responded immediately and ordered the student to stop, but the youth refused to follow instructions and tried to walk away. 

When the deputy attempted to stop the student, he resisted. 

During the struggle, the deputy sustained minor injuries, including a cut on his finger and an abrasion on his elbow, Sheriff’s Office representatives said.

The student was placed under arrest. During a search of his belongings as part of the arrest process, deputies discovered multiple marijuana vapes and a loaded .22-caliber revolver hidden in the student’s backpack. 

The student was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance before being booked into Santa Maria Juvenile Hall on suspicion of possessing a firearm on school grounds, resisting arrest, and possessing marijuana on school grounds while under age 18.

Sheriff’s Office representatives noted that the “swift and coordinated response” between Righetti High School administrators and the deputy “ensured that the firearm was safely confiscated before it could be used, preventing what could have been a tragedy.”