Police: Student arrested with loaded gun near football field may have had violent intentions

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - FOX 35 News is learning new details about a scary situation at Astronaut High School’s JV football game Thursday night. 

A 17-year-old student was tackled, tased, and arrested as he ran towards the football field with a loaded gun, according to officials. Investigators believe there could have been potential for a violent situation. 

Officers were alerted to the suspect by a relative who called in saying that the teen had left home and could be on his way to the school with a gun. 

Police say they stopped the teenager as he ran towards the field.  A school resource officer (SRO) tackled him just 40 feet from the entrance of the stadium. 

"I don’t want him to go to school there. I don’t want him to go back to school there at all," said a parent of an Astronaut High student after hearing the news. "These kids don’t care about nothing but themselves. They think it’s cool until they get arrested."

Titusville police investigators said they have gathered quite a bit of information on the suspect who also attends Astronaut High - some of it coming even before Thursday night’s encounter with police. 

"Some of the information and the intelligence we have is very concerning to us so we are going to get to the bottom of it," said Titusville Police PIO Todd Hutchinson. 

Officer Hutchinson was one of several hundred people in the crowd last night to watch his son play. He credits the SRO and an off-duty officer who responded to the area for preventing a possibly terrible outcome.

"As both a resident and a police officer, I’m so thankful that our guys were so alert and avoided a potentially tragic situation."

The student involved has been charged with possession of a firearm and two counts of resisting arrest. Additional charges are pending if in fact, he had violent motives. 

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