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Weapons%20found%20on%20campuses%20around%20Central%20Florida%20have%20parents%20fed%20up
Deputies%20in%20Orange%20County%20arrested%20a%20student%20at%20a%20high%20school%20after%20the%20student%20was%20found%20to%20be%20in%20possession%20of%20a%20weapon%2C%20they%20say.%20%20It%20is%20the%20third%20incident%20in%20as%20many%20days%20in%20which%20law%20enforcement%20officers%20around%20the%20region%20have%20found%20weapons%20on%20different%20campuses.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A student was arrested at West Orange High School after deputies said they found the student to be in possession of a weapon. It is the third time this week weapons have been found on a Central Florida school campus.
Machetes and axes were discovered on Tuesday at another school, then a gun was found on Wednesday at yet another. Deputies are not saying what kind of weapon they found at West Orange, but after three incidents this week in Central Florida, parents say they are fed up.
“We received a report of a student with a possible weapon on campus,” said West Orange High School’s principal in a message sent out to parents.
There have been three incidents in three days of students bringing weapons to school. The latest was at West Orange High School.
“Everybody was just sitting there in silence. They said it was a lockdown. We had no idea what was going on,” said West Orange High School senior Nicolas Stahl.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says they showed up to the school around noon after a report that someone had a weapon on campus. “We were like we don’t know what’s going on.”
Deputies found it in a student’s backpack.
Earlier this week, three students were arrested at Mount Dora High School. Deputies say surveillance video showed them passing a gun around Wednesday in the school gym. Yet another student was arrested at Pine Ridge High School in Deltona Tuesday after deputies found a machete and axes in his car.
“It’s going to continue. It’s’ not going to get any better because kids see other kids getting away with it,” said Barb Leech, who’s a grandparent of a 14-year-old.
“You got to go to the core of the problem and the core of the problem is what’s going on in their heads to want to bring weapons to school,” said Andy Kasler who has a son in high school.
Some parents suggest metal detectors to help with the problem. “There’s measures that need to be addressed and looked upon.”
Others say parents need to step up. “It’s sad but where are the parents?”
Deputies and school officials in Orange and Lake Counties say the weapons were not displayed in a threatening way and no one was in immediate danger.
Orange County Public Schools is encouraging students to call the SpeakOut hotline at 1-800-423-TIPS or the Fortify Florida app to report suspicious activity.
They also encourage parents to talk to their kids and check their bags regularly.