A 10th-grader charged with bringing a loaded handgun to Eldorado High School last week needed to protect himself from three 20-year-olds who had attacked him near school grounds, the teen's defense attorney said Wednesday.

The Review-Journal has confirmed the teen's identity as Jeff Jacob, 16.

The teen had written a note to a former girlfriend that indicated "something big" could happen, said Clark County Deputy Public Defender Bob Amundson, who did not identify his client by name.

Amundson said he does not believe that the note was a reference to an impending act of violence at the school.

Instead, he said, the teen had the gun to defend himself.

"He thinks the note was exaggerated," Amundson said, referring to the reaction to its contents.

During a brief hearing Wednesday in Clark County juvenile court, Hearing Master Thomas Leeds ordered the defendant to undergo a psychological examination.

Jacob is expected to return to court next week to face misdemeanor charges of illegally possessing a gun, carrying a concealed weapon and making threats to do bodily harm.

Clark County prosecutor Jonathan VanBoskerck declined to comment Wednesday.

Police said Jacob took a loaded handgun to school Friday and threatened to shoot the weapon during lunchtime.

School district police arrested him about 8:15 a.m. after learning of the gun.

A girl at the school, who Amundson said was his client's former girlfriend, reported it to authorities after the student gave her a note warning her to run the other way if she heard gunfire during the lunch break, a source said.

Paraphrasing the contents of the note, Amundson said: "Don't come around after school -- something big is going to happen."

Amundson said his client "had some depression going on over a breakup with his girlfriend."