Police: Student brought gun to school in backpack

OCALA, Fla. (WOGX FOX 51) - An high school student in an Ocala, Florida brought a handgun with him to class at West Port High School on Wednesday, leading to a lock-down that lasted two hours.

Parents got a notice on their phones from the school.

“Today we had an unfortunate situation, with a student bringing a gun to campus,” the message stated.

Zach Koviack, a West Port student, recalled what it was like when the alert went out.

“The bell was going off, everyone started panicking. Next thing, people started running, people locking down doors. Everyone was barring up, it was repeating 'Code Yellow, Code Yellow!'”

School officials say a sophomore student had the handgun hidden in his backpack. They say another student found out about it and told the school resource officer. By the time the officer found out about it, the student was already in the assistant principal's office, struggling with two school staffers.

The SRO threatened to taze student. That's when he stopped fighting and they arrested him. They say he didn't make any threats against students, and they're trying to figure out why he had the gun with him.

“At this time, we don't know the motive, don't know why he had the firearm in his possession, or what his intent was,” said Meghan Shay, Ocala Police Spokeswoman, “that I'm sure will become clear as the investigation continues.”

They say there was also a full magazine in the bag, but it wasn't in the gun. The gun was reported stolen out of Suwanee County. Investigators are also looking into how it got in the student's backpack.

The student is facing several felony charges.

In April, a student at another Marion County high school was arrested, accused of opening fire inside the school and injuring one person.  Sky Bouche, 19, is awaiting trial on charges of terrorism, aggravated assault with a firearm, culpable negligence, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm on school property and multiple other gun charges.