A student at DeLand Middle School was taken into custody on Wednesday after he was found to be in possession of a firearm.
DeLand Police Department officers responded to the middle school, which is located at 1400 Aquarius Avenue, at around 2:02 p.m. on Wednesday, September 13 in reports to a “Fortify Florida” alert, which is a reporting tool that allows information to be immediately relayed to law enforcement agencies.
Upon arrival, officers established a perimeter around the school and placed the campus on lockdown. Police immediately located the juvenile in question and found that he had a gun in his backpack.
According to police, the juvenile did not threaten anyone with the firearm.
The juvenile, who was not named by police due to his age, was taken into custody and transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
In comparison to last school year, there have been far fewer reported gun incidents at local schools since the new school year started last month.
Almost exactly a year ago, DeLand Police Department dispelled rumors about a fake bomb threat that was allegedly made by a student at the same middle school.