HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Officials say random searches of backpacks and classrooms will be stepped up following the discovery of a gun at Hattiesburg High School.

The Hattiesburg American reports (http://hatne.ws/UOLWa0 ) a ninth-grader was arrested by Hattiesburg Public School District police Monday and taken to the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center after he brought the gun to school.

A school district spokesman says police found out about the gun after another student reported it through the school's Crime Stoppers program.

Superintendent James Bacchus said it's believed the gun belonged to the student's grandfather.

Information from: The Hattiesburg American, http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com

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