Sep 18, 2009 5:47 pm US/Eastern
Gun In Backpack, Kid With Razor Blade At 2 Schools
Student From Robert Renick Educational Center Arrested With Razor Blade
7 Students From 7 Schools Arrested For Weapons Thursday
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A lockdown at Robert Morgan Educational Center has been lifted after a gun was found on campus.
According to Miami-Dade Schools spokesman John Schuster, a gun was found in a back pack at Robert Morgan Educational Center, located at 18180 SW 122nd Avenue in Southwest Miami-Dade around 10:00 a.m.
Students say the gun was fired under an unknown circumstance. Police have not confirmed whether the weapon was discharged.
"I was on the second floor and I heard a gunshot and all the police went running and everything," one student told
CBS4's Gary Nelson. Another student said, "I was in class and all of the students heard like a loud 'pop' but we didn't know what happened. Then on the loud speaker they said we were on 'code red'."
The school went on an immediate lockdown.
"My teacher went out to ask what was going on and one of the other teachers yelled that there was a gun and she ran back into the classroom and turned off all of the lights, told us to get under the desks, and locked both doors," said another student.
Students say police took one person into custody but police have not confirmed whether they've taken anybody into custody.
Some parents rushed to the school to get their kids out of class. One father said "Parents need to keep an eye on their kids a little more often."
A short time later, another student at another school was arrested for bringing a weapon to school. According to the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, a student from Robert Renick Education Center in Miami Gardens, was arrested for a carrying a razor blade.
These incidents come one day after 7 other Miami-Dade students, from 7 different schools, were taken into police custody for bringing or trying to bring weapons to school and three days after a student was stabbed to death at Coral Gables Senior High.
At Miami Springs Senior High, a student was arrested for bringing a loaded .38 revolver. The student was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center. "He wasn't waving it around but he was saying it was his right to have a gun," junior Amanda Valdespino described.
At South Dade Senior High, a 16-year-old student was on his way to school when he was arrested by Miami-Dade Police. His father called police to tell them he'd seen his son leave with the weapon. Officers discovered a multi-tool containing a knife in one of his pants pockets. The teen was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.
At Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High, a student was arrested for brining a box cutter to school.
At Lake Stevens Middle School, a student was arrested for having a Taser on campus.
Students at Palm Springs Middle School, Michael Krop Senior High and Coral Park Senior High were arrested for carrying a knife on school grounds.
The incident at Palm Springs Middle in Hialeah sounded eerily familiar. Students say two eighth-graders were fighting; one held a knife.
"They just started messing around," William Tonoco said. "Then they started calling each other names and he just started to bring out a knife."
Students say police officers got there just in time. Students admitted they knew for days that their friend had a knife. In fact, students told
CBS4's David Sutta that the student went after Daniel Monzon on Wednesday, supposedly joking around. He says he didn't say anything because "they may have a group of people and they can do something. They could jump or whatever."
The student at Coral Park High was caught showing off his knife to a friend. According to students, he was inspired by the deadly stabbing that took place at Coral Gables High on Tuesday.
"Someone was trying to be tough, act tough and say, 'Look, I bring a knife to school, too.'" Freshman Jean Paul Beyaert added, "So he brought it, showed it off."
Some parents who showed up at Coral Park Senior High were wearing black and told Sutta that they've had many close calls. Now, they're asking for change.
"I want more security in the schools and I want, as a mandatory class, for kids to learn how to control their anger because wherever they go, that's going to be the problem factor for all of them!" said mother Denise Delgado. Her daughter attends Coral Park. "They don't know how to control their anger and in a moment of anger, that's what happens! And any kid is prone to that."
All of these incidents prompted Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to address the problem at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
"No child produces a weapon in school on their own," Carvalho said. "Every weapon that they are caught with at school they bring from home or from the streets."
On Tuesday morning, a student was stabbed to death in a fight that escalated at Coral Gables Senior High School. According to the police report, suspect Andy Rodriguez, 17, was caught by police a few blocks from the school after the stabbing. He was reportedly found carrying a switchblade knife, with blood on his clothes.
In the 2007-08 school year, 117 weapons were found on 54 campuses in Miami-Dade County. Coral Park led the list with nine.
The hot line for anonymous tips about potential threats on campus is
305-995-COPS (2677) in Miami-Dade and
754-321-0911 in Broward.
CBS4'S Gary Nelson, David Sutta and Kimberly Chapin contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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