Student arrested for bringing firearm to First Coast High School

A First Coast High School student was arrested Wednesday after a student was found to be in possession of a firearm on campus, school officials said.

A student tip led school administrators and Duval County School Police to the student with the firearm, who was arrested and will now face criminal charges.

No staff or students were injured in the incident.

"Far too often, students say they bring weapons for protection when they leave our school or try to sell them. There is no valid reason to bring any weapon to First Coast High School," Principal Timothy Simmons told parents and guardians in a phone call recording.

Wednesday's incident comes after multiple incidents involving weapons and firearms at First Coast High School last week, including two students being arrested Thursday after they were found to be in possession of a stun gun.

A parent meeting will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. to address the recent events of weapons on campus.

Here's the full text of Principal Simmons' call to parents:

"Hello Parents and Guardians of First Coast High School.  This is Principal Simmons calling to alert you of an incident that occurred this afternoon. We received a student tip about another student being in possession of a firearm on campus. School administration and Duval County School Police identified and detained the suspect who was in possession of a firearm. The student was immediately arrested, and will face criminal charges. Additionally, this student will face discipline according to the Student Code of Conduct, which may include expulsion. We are thankful no students and/or staff were injured during today's incident, and applaud our students who reported the tip. As I have stated each time incidents like this occur, we cannot sacrifice the safety of our students and staff. Far too often, students say they bring weapons for protection when they leave our school or try to sell them. There is no valid reason to bring any weapon to First Coast High School.  As parents and guardians, your involvement and monitoring is crucial to the safety of our school. As a reminder, we are hosting a parent meeting tomorrow, Thursday, February 2nd at 6pm to address recent weapon incidents and discuss how essential a safe learning environment is to improving academic performance. I urge you to join us. Also, keep discussing consequences resulting from making bad decisions, and encouraging your children to report any unsafe situations or possible weapons in the school to an adult. Please contact me at 904-757-0080 if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you."

Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti released the following statement on guns being found in schools:

"As I always indicate, one weapon brought to school is too many. Today, several were identified in schools throughout Jacksonville regardless of zip code. Thankfully, we have no evidence to indicate that students planned to use them at the school.  This has been the case with each weapon discovered at schools over the years. To stop these incidents from reoccurring, we need active parent and guardian involvement. Weapons are arriving to our schools from homes and neighborhoods. We will continue to conduct random searches, which we have expanded, and will continue to actively investigate tips and student behavior. However, parents and guardians must check children's belongings from backpacks to vehicles before school. More importantly, they must monitor their children's friends and peer groups, including social media activity and activities outside of the home. Bringing a weapon to school is completely unacceptable. We have, and will, continue to apply expulsion and criminal charges to any student who brings a weapon to school. As a society, though, we must also begin to hold our parents and guardians accountable to the expectation that their involvement and supervision is critical to protecting the safety of their children and also those of the greater society, including school personnel and other children. We encourage students to continue to own the safe school environment they demand by informing personnel of the presence of weapons. In turn, as a team of educators, we will continue to forge relationships with students, parents, and the community to prevent incidents like these from occurring."

Cox Media Group