Q.I. Roberts : “14-Year-Old Arrested for Bringing Gun to School in Putnam County”

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A 14-year-old student from Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School was taken into police custody on Friday afternoon and charged with third-degree felony possession of a weapon on a school campus.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office received a notification via the FortifyFL app, alerting youth resource deputies to the presence of a firearm in the student’s backpack. Acting swiftly, deputies managed to detain the 9th-grade student within three minutes of receiving the tip.

Fortunately, thanks to the quick response and the fact that there were no class changes, the school administration decided not to initiate a lockdown, allowing normal activities to continue.

Upon inspecting the student’s backpack, deputies found a handgun secured in a holster. The student claimed to have come across the firearm near Main Street and Madison Street in Palatka while on his way to the bus stop, insisting that he had not removed the gun from his backpack.

Deputies noted that the gun was covered in dirt and appeared to be in a non-functional condition. Despite believing that there was no malicious intent, authorities emphasized the seriousness of bringing a firearm onto school grounds.

Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach stated, “Despite the fact that there was no ill-intent, we have to charge this student for bringing a firearm on campus. This gun could have ended up in the wrong hands, leading to a different outcome. All the student needed to do was turn in the gun to an adult, Deputy Brady, or a school administrator.”

Following the arrest, the 14-year-old was taken into custody and later released to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

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