LAUDERDALE LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - A troubling tip ignited a scare at a South Florida school after, authorities said, a 14-year-old boy who is not a student there brought a gun on campus.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Friday morning.
Investigators said someone spotted the teen with the firearm, reported it, and the campus was placed on a code red lockdown.
A student said she had just arrived at the school when the school went into lockdown.
“They locked the door, like, after we went inside, so we couldn’t go into any classroom ’cause, like, everyone was hiding and stuff like that,” she said.
The student said she hid in a bathroom.
“After what happened at [Marjory] Stoneman [Douglas High School], everything is like – you’ve got to take precautions and stuff,” she said.
“I was in dance, so I had to go to this back room,” said another student.
“I think it’s dangerous. He could have shot somebody,” said a third student. “It could have been really dangerous. It could have been, like, violent.”
Deputies detained the teen and secured the weapon. He was later placed under arrest.
Authorities indicated the 14-year-old does not attend Boyd Anderson High, so they are trying to determine how he was able to enter school property.
This situation has unfolded a number of times this school year on several South Florida campuses. At Walker Elementary in Fort Lauderdale, a gun was found inside a student’s book bag back in October.
Tips also led to guns found at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Northwest Miami-Dade and Lamar Louis Curry Middle School in Southwest Miami-Dade, among others.
“All these people brining weapons to school, it’s frustrating,” said a Boyd Anderson High student.
Boyd Anderson High’s principal released a statement that read in part, “I commend the student who did the right thing — seeing something and saying something. At all times, the safety and security of our students and staff are our highest priorities.”
The coe red lockdown was later modified to a code yellow while deputies investigated.
The teen will face several charges, including possession of a weapon in school property.
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