UPDATE: A firearm found in a student's bookbag at Rickards High School Tuesday morning was reported stolen, according to Leon County Sheriff's Office.
LCSO reports around 8:10 a.m. at Rickards High Tuesday morning, staff members detected the smell of marijuana on a 17-year-old student who arrived late on campus.
Rickards' Security staff immediately began an investigation, which included an administrative search of the student, LCSO said. The search resulted in a loaded Glock 43 X handgun being found in the student's backpack.
The student was immediately arrested, transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center without incident, and charged with Possession of a Firearm on School Property.
According to the sheriff's office, the Leon County School Resource Deputy's preliminary investigation determined the weapon was reported stolen out of Tallahassee.
INITIAL STORY
A student at Rickards High School was found with a firearm on the school’s campus.
According to the Tallahassee Online Police Statistics website, law enforcement responded to an incident involving “weapons or firearms” just after 8 a.m. Tuesday at the 3000 block of Jim Lee Road, which is the block where the high school is located.
According to an email obtained by ABC 27 from the Leon County Schools District, Rickards principal Douglas Cook said in an email that before the end of first period, the school’s security staff identified two students entering the Rickards High School main office.
An immediate investigation revealed that one of the students was in possession of a loaded handgun.
The email notes that the student was arrested and will receive appropriate consequences in relation to the school district's student code of conduct.
“I commend the quick actions of our professional security staff and our School Resource Officer for their prompt action. All students are safe and in their 2nd-period classes,” Cook said in the email.
