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OCALA, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Students will be returning to class at West Port High School on Thursday after a student was arrested for bringing a gun to an Ocala campus. There is no word yet on whether there will be additional security on campus.
Classes are scheduled to resume after two very tense hours on Wednesday when the school was put on lockdown. Ocala police said a sophomore had a gun in his backpack and he wasn’t going down without a fight.
It was chaos on campus as students ran to find safety.
“The bell was going off, everyone started panicking,” student Zach Koviack said. “Next thing, people started running. People locking down doors. Everyone was barring up. It was repeating ‘Code Yellow, Code Yellow!’
It all started when another student learned about a handgun hiding in another student’s backpack and reported it to the School Resource Officer. By the time the officer found out about it, the student was already in the assistant principal’s office struggling with two school staffers.
The SRO threatened to take the 16-year-old student and that’s when officials said he stopped fighting and was arrested.
“At this time, we don't know the motive, don't know why he had the firearm in his possession, or what his intent was,” Ocala Police spokeswoman Meghan Shay said. “That I'm sure will become clear as the investigation continues.”
Authorities said they also found a full magazine inside the student’s backpack, but it was not loaded inside the gun.
Officials said the sophomore didn’t make any threats against any students.
“I’m wondering why this keeps on happening?” Koviack said. “Why does this have to continue doing this? I don't understand the need or the purpose of having a gun at school at all.”
It wasn’t until 4:30 in the afternoon after Ocala Police secures the campus, that parents were notified of the close call.
“Good evening Marion County families. This is Superintendent Dr. Heidi Maier. Today at West Port High School, a student brought an unloaded handgun onto campus. Our Safe Schools Coordinator and support staff from the district responded to West Port immediately. We are also thankful to Ocala Police Department for their expeditious response. Under guidance from Ocala Police Department, we delayed in notifying the public of the Code Yellow. OPD needed time to investigate, secure the campus and ensure student safety. The district also needed to confirm all facts while we allowed OPD to investigate.”
The gun was reportedly stolen from Suwannee County. Investigators are looking into just how he got a hold of it. That student is facing multiple felony charges.
Ocala police said there was a rumor that another student had a gun in their car, but their investigation did not produce any additional weapons or arrests.