Charges: 16-year-old posted video of himself holding automatic ‘ghost gun’ at St. Paul school

A teenager has been charged after he allegedly posted pictures and videos of himself holding an automatic “ghost gun” at a St. Paul charter school.

Court documents show that Ramsey County investigators started looking into teens toting guns at Career Pathways high school at the end of last week.

According to charging documents, a 16-year-old boy posted a video of himself holding a black handgun that appeared to be equipped with an auto sear switch to make it fully automatic and an extended magazine on Instagram. That teen also posted a picture to Snapchat of him holding the same gun.

A couple of days later, the teen had posted another video on Instagram of him holding the same gun with the caption, “Playing crazy buttons in school won’t go out like tyjaunn,” the documents state. Deputies say “crazy buttons” typically refers to guns with fully automatic switches. That video also showed another teen holding a handgun with an extended magazine.

When investigators searched the 16-year-old’s home, they saw he was wearing a gray backpack that he’d had on in one of the videos posted to social media. Inside that backpack, deputies found the gun equipped with an auto sear and an extended magazine, court documents state. The gun was also loaded and had a live round in the chamber, and deputies noticed it didn’t have a serial number.

After he was arrested, the teen admitted to having the gun, saying it was for protection.

School administrators also confirmed the video of the teens holding the guns at school was shot in a school bathroom.

The 16-year-old is charged with gun possession by a minor and having a dangerous weapon on school property.