School Officer Stops Armed Teenager Before He Enters Building

A 16-year-old former student armed with a handgun was stopped before he entered a Daytona Beach high school, local media reported.

A school resource officer (SRO) and an “armed guardian” at Mainland High School confronted the former student, who had fled from a SRO when trying to re-register at the school earlier in April, local TV station WESH reported. The student had been removed from the school in February after being arrested on charges of marijuana possession and vehicle burglary, according to WFTV, an Orlando-based TV station.

Upon being intercepted, the student was searched and a loaded handgun and two magazines were discovered in the waistband of the student’s pants, according to WESH. The school was not placed on lockdown due to the incident.

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The student was arrested on an open warrant as a runaway, WFTV reported. He also faces charges of possession of a firearm by a juvenile, possession of a firearm on school property and possession of ammunition on school property.

Possession of firearms and ammunition in a school zone is a violation of 18 USC 922(q), the Gun-Free School Zones Act.