A 15-year-old Dillard High School student was arrested for having a gun on the school’s campus Thursday after another teen accidentally shot himself with it, according to Fort Lauderdale Police.
On Thursday morning, a 16-year-old boy told staff at Broward Health Medical Center that he had accidentally shot himself in the 1100 block of Northwest 24th Avenue, near the high school, said Det. Ali Adamson, a spokesperson for the police department. Staff informed a police officer who was working at the hospital, she said.
At the school later, administrators found the gun when they searched the 15-year-old boy’s belongings for reasons unrelated to the shooting, Adamson said. A search of his backpack found personal belongings of the 16-year-old, and other evidence, Adamson said.
The 16-year-old boy is expected to recover, Adamson said.
The 15-year-old boy faces one count of possession of a firearm on school property, which is a third-degree felony. The police department released the student’s name, but the South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying him because he is a minor.
The teen is at least the fifth Broward County student so far in 2024 to be arrested and face charges related to bringing weapons to campus.
A 16-year-old boy at Monarch High School was arrested last week for allegedly having a knife on campus, officials said.
An 18-year-old student at Henry D. Perry Education Center was found with a loaded 9 mm handgun in his waistband in January, according to a probable cause affidavit. A Stranahan High School student was found with a loaded gun on campus a week later, Fort Lauderdale Police said.
Late last month, two 17-year-old boys were arrested at Deerfield Beach High School, where one of them was a student. One of the boys was sleeping in a car parked in the lot, and a search of the car found two loaded handguns, loaded magazines and illegal drugs, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.