Orlando Sentinel | By Garfield Hylton | March 10, 2022
An eighth-grader in Poinciana faces multiple felony charges after bringing a gun and ammo to school.
Polk County deputies arrested the student at Lake Marion Creek Middle School on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
A witness told school officials they heard the suspect would “shoot up the school” and “shoot a teacher first.”
The student reported the threat to the dean of the school, who contacted the school resource deputy via radio, the press release stated.
Once the deputy arrived, they removed the suspect from his second-period class and asked him if he was carrying a gun. The student told the deputy the gun was tucked in his waistband. The deputy removed a Glock 9 mm from his waistband and a magazine loaded with one round from his pocket.
Another witness told the deputy they heard the suspect showed someone the gun on Monday. Deputies interviewed the student, who said the suspect lifted his shirt and showed her the gun.
On Tuesday, some students were making fun of the suspect. He responded by making “a motion with his hand as if he had a gun” and said, “don’t come to school tomorrow,” according to authorities.
The suspect told deputies he took the gun from his parents’ locked bedroom while his parents were out of town.
“The child who immediately reported this crime to school administrators is our hero – he heard something, and immediately said something. There is no telling what this eighth-grader might have done otherwise. This juvenile suspect is facing some serious felonies.” said Sheriff Grady Judd.
Officials charged the suspect with several felonies, including possessing a firearm on school property, grand theft of a gun, and carrying a concealed firearm. All three charges are felonies.
He received an additional misdemeanor charge for unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor.
