BATON ROUGE - School officials at Istrouma High School found a gun in a student's backpack that the student claimed she needed for protection against a former student who had allegedly been threatening her. 

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested Leneya Allen, 18, Thursday for carrying a firearm on school property. Deputies said the gun was found on Tuesday morning at 7:55 a.m.. 

Allen told deputies she had found the gun on a "grassy cut-through" on North Acadian Thruway. She said she had never shot the gun before, but that she believed she needed it for protection against a former student who had said he was going to shoot her the next time he saw her. 

Allen said she brought the gun to school because she feared for her safety. 

She was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for carrying a firearm on school property and violating a firearm-free zone.