(NewsReady.com) – Two Florida students have been arrested for making an illegal gun deal, and they’re just 10 years old. The boys’ school was locked down after one of them was caught with ammunition in his backpack. When cops investigated, they found the handgun and a stash of drugs.
On the morning of March 27, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a “suspicious incident” at a LaBelle, Florida school. Country Oaks Elementary had already initiated a lockdown. While investigating, cops found that Carlos Santos Madrid had been carrying ammunition in his backpack. This turned out to be part of a deal Madrid had struck in February with Jaiden Diego Escobedo.
Escobedo’s mother is a Hendry County deputy, as was his deceased father. It turns out Escobedo had agreed to sell his father’s handgun to Madrid for $300. Cops later found the weapon hidden under a shed in Madrid’s yard; the same hiding place also contained a 74-gram bag of marijuana.
Both boys were arrested and are now being detained by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Escobedo has been charged with selling a firearm to a minor, unlawful possession, possession on school property, and grand theft of a firearm. Madrid also faces two possession charges, as well as the purchase of a firearm by a minor and possession of marijuana over 20 grams. The sheriff’s office confirmed that Escobedo’s mother has been put on administrative leave and will go through an inquiry.
After the incident, concerned parents called for more information on social media. The initial statement from the sheriff’s office just said there had been a lockdown, and reassured parents that “at no time were the students, staff and school administration in danger.” It looks as if that reassurance wasn’t enough for parents, though, with many complaining that they didn’t know what had actually happened.
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