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In a concerning turn of events at Palatka Junior-Senior High School, four students were taken into custody on Monday following the discovery of a firearm on the premises.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the incident led to an immediate lockdown of the school. The initial alert came from a vigilant student who overheard a conversation about a gun and promptly informed school administrators.
The subsequent investigation revealed that a group of students, comprising a 17-year-old, two 16-year-olds, and a 15-year-old, had been communicating via text messages about the firearm. Their messages reportedly centered around the condition of the gun, which they believed was broken, and their intentions to repair it. It appears that the weapon was passed among the four students throughout the day.
During the lockdown, authorities managed to locate the firearm, confirming that it was the only one present on campus. The swift action of the school administration and law enforcement ensured that no further threat was posed to students or staff.
All four students were subsequently transported to the Putnam County Jail. They now face charges of possession of a firearm on a school campus, a third-degree felony, as well as a misdemeanor charge of disrupting a school function.
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.
