HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. – Two 10-year-old boys were arrested Wednesday after one of the children sold a gun to the other at an elementary school, according to the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office.
In a release, deputies said they responded to Country Oaks Elementary School on Wednesday morning. The school was placed on a brief lockdown.
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After deputies and school officials interviewed the two students, the boys were arrested, the release shows.
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Detectives explained that in February, one of the students agreed to trade a handgun — which belonged to his deceased father — for $300.
The gun was later found under a shed in one of the boys’ backyards, along with a baggie of marijuana that weighed around 74 grams, the sheriff’s office said.
The student who traded the handgun faces charges of selling a firearm to a minor, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a firearm on school property and grand theft of a firearm.
His mother is a deputy with the sheriff’s office and was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, officials with the sheriff’s office said.
Meanwhile, the other student faces charges of purchasing a firearm as a minor, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a firearm on school property and possession of marijuana over 20 grams.
Both children were placed in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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