Guns in school: Three Escambia Co. students arrested since October

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WEAR) — There is a rise in teens bringing guns to school in Escambia County, that's according Sheriff David Morgan and State Attorney Bill Eddins. Both men said it's just a matter of time before something like what happened in Parkland, happens in Northwest Florida.

Since October, three teenagers in Escambia County have been arrested for bringing guns to school.

Fourteen-year-old Dinari Shields was arrested in October for bringing a loaded gun to Belleview Middle School. Sixteen-year-old Terrance Harris brought a gun to West Florida Tech in January. In February, 13-year-old Ashton Ferguson-Resmondo arrived at Ransom Middle School with a gun.

"It's unbelievable to me that it's occurring, but it is," said First Circuit State Attorney Bill Eddins. "And as a society, we have to deal with it."

It's up to Eddins to prosecute these kids. He assures us there are steps in place to make sure they aren't lost in the system.

"We notify the school system every time we arrest any juvenile on a felony charge," said Eddins. "They have a certain protocol they have where they notify the people who are involved with those children."

The juvenile system focuses on rehabilitation; the adult system is more for punishment. Eddins said Shields and Ferguson-Resmondo are being prosecuted as juveniles; Harris, as an adult.

"I can put him on probation for a longer period of time," said Eddins. "I can perhaps put him in jail. I have a lot more control in adult court."

During school shootings, often times school resource officers are first on the scene.

"We train continuingly for these circumstances," said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. "We have a very robust and professional school resource officer program."

The Escambia County SRO program won best in the state last year. Sheriff Morgan said they train rigorously, but can't be everywhere.

"We are in a reactive mode, it's not proactive, we've done everything proactive we can do by having a resource officer in place, but now, it's left to chance," said Morgan.

The relationship between law enforcement, the State Attorney's Office, and the school district is integral to making sure kids who bring guns to school are held accountable, but Eddins said that doesn't stop the threat.

"If circumstances don't change, we're going to have a major incident in the first circuit," said Eddins. "There's just no way around it."

Determining whether students should be prosecuted as juveniles or adults depends on several key factors. Eddins said they take into account age, history of criminal behavior, and the student's overall attitude and cooperativeness.