A 13-year-old 7th-grade student was arrested and accused of carrying a weapon to school after school staff were alerted to a gun in the student’s backpack.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office reported that another student spotted what turned out to be a BB gun while having breakfast at Interlachen Junior-Senior High School.
The second student promptly informed school officials. Youth resource deputies and school administrators swiftly located the student with the BB gun during her first-period class in the junior high gym on campus 2.
Thanks to the prompt response of the school administration and deputies, there was no need to lock down the school during the incident, and classes continued as usual.
The student is facing a third-degree felony charge for bringing a weapon to campus.
However, her name and photo are being withheld at this time because there is no evidence of a direct threat to the school, its students, or individuals.
PCSO Stated in a Facebook Post that, “We want to remind parents and guardians again of the seriousness of weapons coming onto a school campus. The BB gun in this case appears real and does not look like a toy. If the student had pointed the BB gun in the direction of students or teachers, our youth resource deputies and guardians would have reacted with deadly force to protect others.”
“This is a student who in reality had no clue how dangerous it was to bring this to a school campus,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “She did not intend to harm anyone but wanted to show this weapon off to her friends. She now faces the consequences of her actions plus whatever discipline the school deems appropriate.”
