MCSD: Student takes prop gun from Jensen Beach High class; others report it as real
MARTIN COUNTY — Students saw a classmate in a bathroom with a gun tucked in her waistband Tuesday, not knowing it was a prop gun from a theater class at Jensen Beach High School, a school district spokesperson said.
The students alerted a school official who alerted the school resource officer about it.
Jennifer DeShazo, a spokesperson for Martin County School District, said this is what happened:
A student removed the prop gun from a theater class at the Jensen Beach High School campus and tucked it in her waistband.
After class, she walked in to the bathroom where other students saw her with the prop.
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The students in the bathroom had no knowledge the "gun" was fake.
Students who saw it immediately reported it to school administrators, who, in turn, informed the school resource officer.
"Then the SRO was involved because at that time nobody knew for sure if it was really what it was, even though the student had apparently alluded to the fact that it was a prop from the theater classroom," DeShazo said.
The school resource officer investigated if a student was in possession of a weapon and confiscated the prop gun after finding it on the student, DeShazo said.
No other students were involved with carrying the prop gun outside of the class.
The student was not arrested, but may face consequences from the school under the district's code-of-conduct.
"Student discipline is confidential," DeShazo said. "We have a code of conduct for students and that's how we assess discipline when incidents arise, so it'll be handled in accordance with that code of conduct."
Jensen Beach High School has a process for determining where the infraction would fall on the code of conduct and will have a conversation with the student's parents.
The process starts immediately, DeShazo said, but she said there's no specific timeline on when the school would make its decision.
DeShazo said officials alerted parents around noon because the school resource officer confiscated the prop gun from the student in front of other students.
She praised the students who reported seeing the prop.
"We tell our students all the time that the 'see something, say something' rule is extremely important, that they play a role in school safety," DeShazo said. "And we are so grateful to them for taking the initiative to say 'I saw something that made me uncomfortable or made me afraid'."
Mauricio La Plante is a TCPalm breaking news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@TCPalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Student had prop gun in Jensen Beach High School bathroom, district says
