FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A 15-year-old student at Flagler Palm Coast High School in Bunnell was arrested Wednesday, accused of threatening two other students at the school with a fake gun.
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A Flagler County School Resource Deputy responded to the incident after one of the victims reported it to the Dean’s office.
The SRD interviewed both victims who said the teen suspect pointed what appeared to be a “colorful gun” at them as they were walking into the gym. They told deputies the suspect also pulled the trigger multiple times and told the victims he would shoot them.
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One of the victims said they were so afraid, they ran into a nearby restroom to hide, but the suspect waited until they came back out and continued making threats. That’s when the victims said they noticed the gun, which appeared to be real, had an orange tip, and the suspect put it back into his backpack.
After investigating further and interviewing witnesses, the SRD managed to identify the 15-year-old suspect and retrieve the gun from him. He identified it as a gel blaster gun designed to look like an actual Glock firearm with graffiti drawings on it.
The teen was arrested for felony aggravated assault and improper exhibition of a firearm.
He was processed at the Flagler County jail and later transferred to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
“A prank like this will only get you arrested,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement announcing the arrest. “Fortunately, this was a fake gun, and the student immediately reported the incident and did exactly what they should have when threatened.”
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore also released a statement applauding the victim’s decision to immediately report the incident to school staff.
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“She saw something and then said something,” Moore said. “Although it appears this was a toy gun, we must take every incident in which a weapon is reported to be on any of our campuses seriously.”
Having any toy weapon on a school campus is a violation of the district’s Student Code of Conduct while brandishing one like an actual weapon is one of the most severe violations in the code and will be reported to the Florida Department of Education.
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