A 17-year-old male was arrested this week after police were tipped off that he was displaying a firearm at a Clermont park near an elementary school.
On Wednesday, September 14, Clermont Police Department officers arrested a 17-year-old individual after a brief foot pursuit near the 800 block of Bloxam Avenue in Clermont. After he was arrested, police discovered multiple drugs in his possession, as well as a firearm that was reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle.
The incident, which took place near Clermont Elementary School, caused the school to be put into lockdown because of its proximity.
The individual was not identified by police.
He faces multiple charges, including possession of a firearm on school property, possession of cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school, grand theft of a firearm, possession of marijuana, and resisting arrest without violence.
The incident follows multiple weeks in which local schools have dealt with gun and bomb threats.
On Wednesday, a 15-year-old student was arrested after he was caught with a gun at Winter Park High School.
Last Monday, DeLand High School was put on lockdown after reports of a possible missing child and weapons on campus.
That incident took place just a day after a social media scare put Lyman High School students and parents on edge. After an investigation by police, that threat was dispelled as “non-credible.”
The week before, Deland Police Department officers dispelled a similar situation at DeLand Middle School after a bomb threat was made on social media.
In a separate incident that same week, a Glock BB gun was recovered from a student’s backpack after a violent tussle with police.