Royal Palm Beach High teacher arrested on campus had gun complaints months earlier
Police had concerns about a teacher’s mental health, guns and possible drug use in the months leading up to his arrest on weapons charges at Royal Palm Beach High School.
Officers with the school district’s police department arrested teacher Robert Krasnicki, 42, on campus last week after learning he had a knife and a loaded 9 mm handgun in his waistband, according to an arrest report.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office soon filed for a protection order, requiring him to surrender all of his guns and ammunition, and the document revealed new details about past concerns and allegations surrounding Krasnicki.
Related:Royal Palm Beach High teacher charged with bringing gun, knife to campus
In November, he took pictures with a rifle and a handgun in his bedroom, at one point aiming a gun at the camera before sending the pictures to an ex-girlfriend, the report states.
'Death of a lot of things'
The ex-girlfriend recalled a message that Krasnicki reportedly sent with the images: “All black today. Death of a lot of things for a Sunday. Goodbye Rob_7.0 and hello Rob_8.0! Today is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad in it! I love you and declare that you are healed.”
She also raised allegations against Krasnicki and his work at Royal Palm Beach High.
According to the report, she accused him of getting Xanax pills from other teachers, trading drugs with students in exchange for good grades and using a school district system to lower her son’s grades and locate her address.
School district:2 Palm Beach Central High students found fatally shot in Palm Springs
More:Former FAU student sentenced to 24 years in prison for producing child porn
The West Palm Beach Police Department originally took the complaint and notified an officer at the school district’s police department. City police did not arrest Krasnicki, and it was not immediately clear whether school police investigated the allegations made against him.
A day later, on Nov. 7, a detective with the sheriff’s office followed up on the investigation by city police, reviewing the allegations and photos provided by Krasnicki’s ex-girlfriend.
Palm Beach County school police alerted about weapons, mental health
The sheriff’s investigator kept in touch with school police, at one point suggesting they evaluate the teacher for possible detention under the Baker Act, the report continues.
Based on that report, it’s unclear what happened in the nearly 2½ months that passed between the investigations in November and his on-campus arrest this month.
And it wasn’t the first time that Krasnicki raised eyebrows in the school district.
The teacher sent a letter to then-Principal Jesus Armas in September 2019 and requested a leave of absence. Krasnicki said he needed time to attend a 30-day treatment program for the trauma caused by a restraining order and divorce petition that his wife filed against him.
Krasnicki told principal his wife feared him, saying it was 'absurd'
In his letter to the school principal, Krasnicki said his wife feared he would “murder her, my children, and then kill myself, which is absolutely absurd.” He also said his wife's injunction against him "was immediately placed into effect."
“If I contact my wife or children, either directly or indirectly, I will automatically go to jail for Domestic Violence for a minimum of two weeks, without bail,” the teacher wrote. “Also, if I go within 500 feet of either them or their dwellings, schools, or work place, I will be arrested.”
Krasnicki joined the school district in 2016. Soon after his arrest last week, Principal Michelle Fleming informed parents about the arrest and said Krasnicki would “not be returning to Royal Palm Beach Community School.”
The school district said on Tuesday that he was “administratively reassigned following a court order for no student or school campus contact."
Krasnicki is facing two counts of possessing a weapon on school property, a felony. He posted his $20,000 bail Friday and was released from custody.
Circuit Judge Kirk Volker granted a temporary order that mandates Krasnicki surrender his guns. A final hearing on the request for a risk protection order is scheduled for Jan. 31.
Giuseppe Sabella is an education reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Royal Palm Beach teacher a concern before arrest for gun on campus
