Ocala’s West Port High School was locked down Wednesday when a gun was reported on campus.
The incident started when a student alerted Ocala Police School Resource Officer Robert Gravel that a 10-grader had brought a firearm to school. Gravel immediately located the student, 16-year-old Kenneth Brown, and removed him from his classroom.
A short time later, a handgun and a loaded magazine were located in Brown’s backpack. The weapon, a Hi-Point .380-caliber pistol, wasn’t loaded. But it was reported stolen out of Suwannee County, an Ocala Police report states.
Brown was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, possession of firearm by a person under 18, possession of a stolen firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
A rumor also circulated that another student had a firearm in his vehicle, but an investigation didn’t produce any additional weapons or arrests, the report says. The school day continued as usual after the incident with a heavy police presence remaining on the campus at West Port, which is located at 3733 SW 80th Ave. in Ocala.
The lockdown at West Port High School comes four months after a school shooting at Forest High School left one student wounded. Sky Bouche, 19, a former student at the school, was quickly arrested by Marion County Sheriff’s Cpl. Jim Long, the school’s resource officer, and faces a litany of charges, including terrorism and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Bouche has pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Marion County Jail without bond. He is scheduled to appear in a Marion County courtroom on May 22 at 9 a.m. to answer to eight charges in the case.
Six days after the April 20 shooting, Gov. Rick Scott honored Long with the Medal of Heroism for his quick actions in taking Bouche into custody within three minutes of hearing the shot fired. And in June, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi honored Long as the 2018 School Resource Officer of the Year.