A Pasco County school resource officer’s gun accidentally discharged into a wall while it was holstered this afternoon.
The incident occurred at Weightman Middle School in Wesley Chapel. While no injuries are being reported, a mandatory investigation has been launched by school supervisors.
“We want to make parents aware of an incident today at Weightman Middle School in Wesley Chapel,” said a statement from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. “Preliminary information indicates that the SRO assigned to Weightman Middle School was in the cafeteria today, leaning against the wall, when his holstered, duty-issued, firearm accidentally discharged into the wall behind him. There are no injuries to any student, staff, or the SRO.”
Statement on incident at Weightman Middle School today. pic.twitter.com/tMpkhMfe9l
— Pasco Sheriff (@PascoSheriff) April 30, 2019
The name of the officer has not been released and it’s unclear at this moment if students were in the cafeteria when the weapon fired.
The timing of today's incident comes when Florida lawmakers are poised to allow teachers to carry firearms, and this is just the most recent situation involving a highly trained person accidentally firing a gun in a school.
In February of 2018, an officer with the Broward Sheriff's Office shot himself in the leg while responding to a false report of a school shooting. Then in March, a teacher in California was leading a gun safety class and accidentally shot and injured a student. That same week, a school resource officer's gun fired because he sat down in a chair. And last June, a Florida deputy shot himself in the hand at a school in Vero Beach.
But surely nothing like this will happen once more guns are in the hands of teachers with even less training.
This is a developing story, and we’ll update this post when more information is available.
Want to know everything going on with Tampa Bay's food and drink scene? Sign up for our Bites newsletter.
