Florida middle-school students brought gun to campus, cops say

Two 15-year-old students at Homestead Middle School were arrested Tuesday after officers said they brought a pistol to campus.

The two teens, both suspected gang members, told Miami-Dade schools police that they brought the .25-caliber pistol to campus because of tensions between rivals, according to an arrest report. The weapon seized by police was not loaded.

The arrests come nearly two weeks after the deadly massacre at a Parkland high school put campuses across the state on high alert for potential threats to students. Former student Nikolas Cruz is accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14 and is now awaiting trial.

Since then, a rash of students in South Florida have been arrested for making online threats against schools. On Tuesday, deputies of the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested a 16-year-old they say made threats to students while playing video games. Deputies found a homemade pipe bomb and other weapons, according to BSO.

A tip about the rival South Miami-Dade street gangs feuding through social media led detectives to Homestead Middle on Tuesday. One of the students claimed he found the gun by his grandmother’s house, and the other urged him to bring it to school, according to a police report.

They also decided to sell the weapon for $40, according to police.

The students, who were not identified, were arrested as juveniles and booked into Miami-Dade’s Juvenile Assessment Center.

The Miami-Dade school district, in a statement Tuesday night, said the case was brought to the attention of police “by other sudents.”

“Information that comes to the school district about potential threats to our schools is handled with immediacy and determination,” the statement said. “Florida’s recent school shooting tragedy has heightened awareness and increased stress levels among school staff and law enforcement, providing no tolerance for violations of the code of student conduct.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Florida middle-school students brought gun to campus, cops say."