Mother concerned after she says student brings Taser on daughter's school bus

A local mother told Action News Jax she’s concerned for the safety of her daughter and other students after she says a student brought a Taser onto a school bus.

While the principal of the school is taking steps based on the Code of Student Conduct, the parent doesn’t believe enough is being done.

"Bringing weapons to school is not OK. Why does a middle school child have a weapon to start with?" Rebecca Cassell asked.

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Cassell said her 13-year-old daughter told her a student brought a Taser on the school bus during her ride home from Arlington Middle School Friday.

"They were jumping around, looking in the back of the seat trying to figure out what the noise was,” Cassell said.

She said the bus driver was alerted to the  possibility of a weapon on board from another driver. School police stopped the bus to search it.

“Whenever they found it, the Taser was under the seat. And no one would claim it, so all they did was confiscate the Taser and put the children back on the bus,” Cassell told Action News Jax.

Cassell says there is a group of students suspected to be involved. Some of them won't be allowed to return to school until the principal speaks to their parents.

In the Duval County Public School Code of Student Conduct -- a Taser is listed as a "prohibited item" and considered a level III infraction.

On page 28 of the Code of Student Conduct, it states the offense is punishable the first time with a parent conference or intervention. The second time, the student could face a seven-day out-of-school suspension.

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Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole went up to the school to talk to the principal about what happened, but she was told the principal was not on-campus and that he was going to call her.

Cassell hopes it doesn't take a tragedy for more action to be taken.

“To be able to go to school, you should be in a safe, danger-free environment. You should be able to learn in peace,” Cassell said.

Cox Media Group