Middle school student arrested after 9mm-style BB gun found in backpack
A 12-year-old boy was removed from a sixth grade classroom and arrested when teachers and deputies learned he had a BB gun in his backpack, school district and law enforcement officials said.
Storm Grove Middle School: The boy was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and taken to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in Fort Pierce following questioning by school deputies and his arrest at roughly 2 p.m., an Indian River County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said.
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9mm lookalike: No threats were made by the boy and when asked, he told the school resource deputy about the unloaded weapon which was designed to resemble a Glock 19-style pistol, said sheriff's Lt. Joe Abollo.
The carbon dioxide gas-powered BB gun is designed as a replica of the GLOCK 19 9mm and is found sold online by a number of distributors and retailers for under $100.
Parents alerted: The school district notified parents by phone of a student with a BB gun at Storm Grove Middle School around 3:15 p.m.
"It was overheard by a couple of students that he was carrying it and the students told the teacher and he was immediately pulled out of class," said School District of Indian River County spokesperson Cristen Maddux.
She said it happened around 2:40 p.m. or just before the end of the school day.
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Unrelated IRCSO SGMS event: Deputies were already at the school for a daylong career fair-style event which involved a SWAT and K9 handler presentation from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Abollo said.
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Middle school student arrested after 9mm-style BB gun found in backpack
