Eighth-Grader With Gun Shot by SWAT Team
well hell cry
By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes agoLONGWOOD, Fla. - A suicidal eighth grader who pulled a handgun in class and forced another child into a closet was shot by a sheriff's SWAT team member Friday when he later threatened deputies, Seminole County officials said.
Sheriff Don Eslinger said the 15-year-old boy brought the gun to Milwee Middle School in his backpack. Eslinger said two students saw it and one persuaded the other to report it, causing a scuffle.
The alleged gunman told one of the students to go into a closet, ran from the classroom and "traveled with this firearm throughout the campus," Eslinger said. Deputies eventually isolated him in a restroom, and the school was evacuated.
"At one time he held the gun to his neck. As the deputies attempted to establish dialogue, he raised the firearm and lethal force was used by the sheriff's office," Eslinger said.
The boy was taken to the hospital. His condition was unknown.
"He was suicidal," Eslinger said. "During this standoff, and during the chase, the student said he was going to kill himself or die."
No one else was injured. Officials with the sheriff's office said they had not confirmed whether the gun the boy had was real or a toy.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the day, and frantic parents arrived to pick up their children.
"When I saw the news, I just couldn't believe this was my daughter's school. I came right away," said Anil Santos, whose daughter, Aleister, is in eighth grade.
Sarah Tivy, 12, said some students were frightened, but she appeared calm.
"I just figured that if someone is going to bring a gun to school, then they need to be taken out of school," she said.