JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A tip from a student Wednesday led authorities to a loaded gun in a locker at Lee High School.
An investigation is currently underway, and a suspect is in custody, district spokesman Mark Sherwood said. An arrest is pending.
Duval County School Police and school administrators conducted a random search after hearing the tip, Sherwood said.
During the search, a loaded gun was discovered in a student's locker and immediately confiscated.
“Duval County Public Schools is very pleased with the responsiveness and cooperation of our students, staff and security teams,” Sherwood said in a statement. “Duval County Public Schools also asks parents and caregivers to talk with their children and emphasize their role in keeping our school campuses safe, and monitor items he or she may bring to school.”
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said it's a good sign that students trust the system when they report seeing weapons on campus.
“The good thing about this incident is that it was reported through a student tip. That means students are really serious about keeping their school safe. That's a good thing,” Smith said. “If you look at people bringing weapons onto campus, this time last year they had about nine or 10 weapons. So far this year, there have just been three. We would like to have it a lot lower, and I'm sure parents at Lee High School would like to have it at zero, but looking at the big picture overall, no one has been hurt, no one has been shot, and the numbers of weapons are way down.”
Smith said that authorities will try to figure out why the student had the gun on campus and what the student's intentions were.
Students News4Jax interviewed Wednesday said that regardless of the intentions, they are glad the weapon was found before anything happened.