Principal's Loaded Guns Found Unattended At Florida School: 'It’s Scary'

Parkland, Florida -- Two loaded guns that belonged to the principal were found unattended inside a Florida school campus.

A closed box that contained the loaded firearms were found inside a locked room at the Somerset Academy, a charter school in Parkland. The unattended box belonged to the school’s principal, Geyler Castro, the school said in a letter sent to parents Friday.

School officials explained that the principal had items inside her car that were unloaded and taken into the school Thursday. They noted that the box with the guns was accidentally unloaded with the other items, according to the New York Post.

After the discovery, the box was kept inside a locked room that could not be accessed by students or staff, officials said.

The school’s resource officer was informed about the discovery and the area was secured. Police were also informed and conducted an investigation, Local 10 News reported.

“No one intended to bring a weapon into the building. The box was among many items brought into the locked room from the principal’s vehicle,” the school’s board said.

The school’s principal did not release a statement addressing the incident.

It is a felony to have firearms on school property in Florida. However, “a person may carry a firearm in a vehicle pursuant to s. 790.25(5); except that school districts may adopt written and published policies that waive the exception in this subparagraph for purposes of student and campus parking privileges,” the outlet quoted a state statute.

It was also reported that firearms should not be taken out from the vehicle or be carried into a school building.

It is unclear if Castro would be facing charges in connection with the incident.

The parents who arrived at the school to pick up their children following the incident were unaware about the guns. The school took about 24 hours after the discovery to explain the situation to parents in the Friday letter.

“I mean, I didn’t hear anything,” Jincy Mathews told 7News.

Parents were shocked when they heard who the guns belonged to.

“It’s scary. What you’re telling me is scary,” Mathews added. “Telling the kids not to bring those types of things onto campus, so she should be the model,” the parent went on to say.

The guns were found in the school that is just a few miles away from Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student gunned down 17 people and injured 17 others in 2018.