Palmhurst, TX (News Center 23) — Mission police believe the student who brought the gun to Rafael Cantu Junior High yesterday was being bullied.

Police said school administrators acted quickly and correctly after being tipped off that a gun was on campus.  

The school was on lockdown for three hours while authorities searched for the gun.

Police said the gun belonged to a relative of the 13 year old boy.

Police believe the student brought in the loaded weapon as a scare tactic and because of this, police urge parents to talk with their children to prevent issues like this from ever happening again.

"Because sometimes kids will not come and tell you what is going on at school. And unfortunately, there is a lot of these cases in today's society where a lot of these kids don't say anything, and unfortunately take steps that get them into these types of situations, where now they are in trouble with the law and where now they have entered the criminal justice process," said Interim Chief Robert Dominguez, Mission Police.

The student has been charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place.

The investigation revealed the student took the gun without the relative or his parent's knowledge. The gun was stored in a secure location. The student broke the lock on the case holding the weapon.