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Teen faces judge after stolen gun arrest at West Port High School

By Monique Valdes and Megan Cruz, WFTV.com
By Monique Valdes and Megan Cruz, WFTV.com
A 16-year-old student faced a judge Thursday after he was arrested at West Port High School in Ocala where police said they found a stolen gun in his backpack. 
Ocala police said a student alerted a school resource officer that 10th grader Kenneth Brown had the weapon on campus.
"I shudder to think what could have happened today were it not for that student who came forward," a concerned resident said.
The school was placed under Code Yellow while the officer removed Brown from class. A .380 caliber handgun and a loaded magazine was found in Brown's backpack. 
The weapon had been reported stolen out of Suwannee County, police said. 

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Brown told police his brother had his back pack the night before and didn't realize it was there until he got to school. However, students told investigators he was showing the gun off before he was caught.
The gun was not loaded. Brown was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm on school grounds and possession of a firearm by a person under 18. 
Police said there was a rumor that there was another student who had a gun inside his vehicle, but a second weapon was not found.
Police said the students were safe during the incident and that there was a “strong police presence” on campus.

Linda De La Vega, whose daughter attends the school, said she is frustrated that it took Marion County Public Schools about four hours to notify parents about the incident.

"It's just upsetting to find out after the fact," she said. "

In a recorded message sent to parents, the Marion County superintendent said police told the district to hold off on notifying parents, but the Ocala Police Department said that isn't true.

"Under guidance from Ocala Police Department, we delayed in notifying the public of the code yellow," the message said.

A district spokesman said they held off on delivering the information sooner because after a shooting at Forest High School in April, police instructed the district to not release information without permission from investigators.

"(We are) requesting that they verify information with law enforcement prior to releasing it," police spokeswoman Meghan Shay said. "However, in no way were they given a directive that they needed permission from law enforcement to inform parents of what was happening."

The district said it released the information once police lifted the code yellow. School officials said it will meet with police to clarify what needs to happen to notify parents in a timely fashion.

THURSDAY NOTICE: In response to questions regarding the incident at West Port; at no point did any law enforcement...

Posted by Ocala Police Department on Wednesday, August 22, 2018

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