A student was arrested and is facing criminal charges after allegedly bringing a knife and a starter pistol to Fletcher Middle School Wednesday morning, school officials say.
In a letter sent home to parents, Fletcher Middle Principal Teresa Mowbray said another student tipped the school's administration off to a weapon on campus. Mowbray says school administrators and police acted quickly to find the student, perform a search and confiscate the weapons.
No students or staff were hurt at the Jacksonville Beach school.
The unidentified student will face criminal charges for bringing the weapons to school. A starter pistol is a replica-type handgun that only shoots blanks and cannot be modified to fire real ammunition. Bringing a weapon to school - real or fake - is a violation of the school district's Code of Conduct. Students who bring weapons might face criminal charges.
Mowbray commended her staff on their quick response to the incident her letter home to parents. "The atmosphere of trust and responsible behavior carried out every day at Fletcher Middle School is second to none," she wrote.
This is the second incident of a weapon found in a student's possession at a Duval County Public School. A student brought a gun to First Coast High School in north Jacksonville and was arrested. No one was harmed in that incident.