LEWISTON – Two more Lewiston High School students have been suspended for having an AirSoft gun in school, Principal Gus LeBlanc said Monday.

“On Thursday a student came to us and reported that two other students had brought an AirSoft gun to school. One had it in his backpack and gave it to a student to hold,” LeBlanc said. “One student admitted he brought it to school. The other admitted he had it in his bag.”

Both have been suspended for 10 days, LeBlanc said. They will be referred to the superintendent.

Another student had heard recent announcements that no AirSoft guns were allowed on school property and reported it to assistant principal Beth Bradley.

Unlike earlier incidents of students with AirSoft guns on school property, no one fired the plastic pellet gun last Thursday. At two events earlier this month at Lewiston Middle School and the high school, AirSoft guns were fired during after-school activities. The earlier incidents led to eight suspensions of students, all boys.

On Thursday when the student who brought the gun to school was asked why, “he couldn’t explain it. He said he thought it would be a cool thing to do,” LeBlanc said. The gun was passed from one to the other during a class, he said.

“The kids were making a poor choice. It didn’t appear there was any intent to shoot. There was no ammunition. It wasn’t discharged.”

The danger of AirSoft guns is that some look like real guns. With recent school shootings in other states, and in a climate of school violence, everyone is on the alert, said Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque. Police could easily mistake an AirSoft gun for a real one and shoot someone they thought was armed.

LeBlanc said he’s discouraged that after recent warnings a student still brought an AirSoft gun to school. However he’s encouraged that another student saw it, recognized it posed a potential risk and let someone know.

“The code of the streets is don’t rat on anybody,” LeBlanc said. “But we’re asking students to make decisions on what’s safe and what’s not, and to speak up.”

So far this year Auburn hasn’t had any incidents of AirSoft guns on school property, said Assistant Superintendent Tom Morrill.

“We have had to deal with it in the past,” Morrill said. “We share similar concerns and have similar policies. They’re treated as a dangerous weapon.”

They present “the threat of widespread panic,” Morrill said.

Parents need to be aware that students have been warned not to bring them to school or to school events. Those who do face suspensions or possibly expulsion, Morrill said.