FBI tip leads NYPD to 16-year-old arrested with loaded gun inside NYC high school

A 16-year-old student at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens was arrested Thursday after posting online threats about carrying out a school shooting, officials said. The teen was found on campus with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, and the NYPD responded to stop a potential tragedy, authorities said.

The FBI confirmed in a statement to Fox News Digital that it had passed information on to the NYPD about the teenager's plans and took swift action. "Earlier today the FBI informed the NYPD of a threat to life involving the Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens," the statement read. "The NYPD deployed to the high school to address this potential threat, which led to a successful outcome. This swift response demonstrates the importance of close partnerships and the critical need for information-sharing to ensure our city and students are protected against unnecessary acts of violence."

Investigators traced the account to the student and alerted the NYPD. Within hours, school safety officers and responding police located the teen inside the school with the firearm and multiple cell phones, including one locked inside a school-issued pouch. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch also confirmed in a press conference that the 10th grader had no prior criminal history but was carrying a loaded handgun when taken into custody without incident.

"I’ll be honest — as a mother of two young school-aged boys, I am shaken," Tisch said. "But as your police commissioner, I am resolute in ensuring that the NYPD does everything in our power to keep our children safe."

Mayor Eric Adams also praised law enforcement’s quick work, calling it "the perfect example of the system working properly." But he also warned that the incident highlights a deeper societal problem. "We could’ve had a very different press conference today. There was a 16-year-old prepared to shoot people at his school," Adams said. "Our young people are going down dangerous paths, and all of us must step in to guide them. They cannot be taken from us by bad influences online."

Adams added, "We potentially saved the lives of a lot of students and staff today, and I don’t want to imagine a world where we would be making a different announcement right now. This is a real wake-up call for our city, for our country."

The case underscores ongoing concerns about online threats to schools and the crucial role of interagency information-sharing in preventing violence. It also highlights the ongoing effort to identify and intervene with at-risk youth before plans for harm can be carried out.

The investigation continues as authorities review social-media activity and threat indicators to determine whether there were any additional accomplices or motives behind the online posts. Officials stressed that security measures at Cardozo and other city schools remain in place as the education community processes the incident and reinforces safety procedures for students and staff.