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At Palatka Junior-Senior High School, authorities arrested four students on Monday following the discovery of a firearm on the premises.
In PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla., the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the incident led to an immediate lockdown at the school after the weapon was found.
The situation unfolded when a student overheard peers conversing about a gun on the school grounds. Acting promptly, the student informed school officials, which prompted the lockdown.
Upon investigation, officers from PCSO found that a group comprising a 17-year-old, two 16-year-olds, and a 15-year-old had been communicating via text about a malfunctioning gun. The group reportedly discussed repairing it, and the firearm was passed among them during the day.
During the search conducted amidst the lockdown, authorities located the firearm, confirming it was the sole weapon on campus.
All four students were brought to the Putnam County Jail and charged with possession of a firearm on a school campus, a third-degree felony, and disruption of a school function, a misdemeanor.
After arriving at the jail, the 17-year-old was discovered with a THC vape in his pocket and received charges of introduction of contraband into a jail facility and possession of marijuana.
All were transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Volusia.
This is an ongoing investigation, and additional charges could be pending, the department said.
“When we have a school still reeling from the death of one of their own from an accidental shooting by another classmate, these four have to bring a gun on campus,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “Clearly they have no clue about the seriousness of playing with a firearm, and that is exactly what they are doing – they are playing at being adults and playing with something that can kill one of them or an innocent bystander. No matter what they now have a little bit of time to think if this is the path they want to go down and follow them for the rest of their lives.”
First Coast News chose not to identify the students due to the nature of their age.