Seabreeze students planning to 'raid' hotel took AR-15, ammo to school, police say

Students exhanged ammo between 1st and 2nd periods at school

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two ninth grade students were arrested Monday after police said they brought weapons and ammunition to Seabreeze High School in a plan to "raid" a closed Daytona Beach hotel.

Police said a teacher was tipped off by another student, who said the 14-year-old and 15-year-old boys had a gun on campus and that they planned to "raid" the LaPlaya Resort.

The teacher found a lower receiver for an AR-15, two 30 round magazines, one 10 round magazine and almost 30 12-gauge shotgun rounds inside the 15-year-old suspect's backpack, according to the arrest report.

“We are very proud of the student who came forward to report the concern which aloud the incident to be quickly addresses by law enforcement,” Seabreeze High School principal Joe Rawlings said in a recorded call to parents and guardians Thursday.

The Seabreeze dean of discipline also found a map of the Hilton hotel and possible plans of a burglary in a notebook, police said.

Daytona Beach police said the dean notified the school resource officer, who confiscated the items.

Two Seabreeze High School students were arrested Monday, March 27, 2017 after police said they brought an AR-15 receiver and more than 70 rounds of ammo to school.

"We have resource officers in those schools for those reasons, to intercede in those things before they become a huge incident or a life-threatening incident," Daytona Beach police Capt. Scott Lee told News 6.

Police said the 15-year-old student took the gun part and ammunition from his dad.

The two students told Daytona Beach officer that they planned on going to the LaPlaya hotel to steal televisions, according to the report. The LaPlaya hotel, located less than a mile from the high school, and was closed after Hurricane Matthew because of damages.

The students told police they didn't plan on hurting anyone and just wanted to "scare people off."

"They were planning to steal some property from possibly the La Playa Hotel, where they wanted to have some type of show of force if they were confronted by security," Lee said.

Police said the 14-year-old student returned the ammo to the 15-year-old during first and second periods and the AR-15 receiver during third period.

Detectives said they found the upper portion of the AR-15 and the shotgun at the 15-year-old's Ormond Beach home under his bed.

Both students are charged with possession of a firearm on school property.

A spokesperson for the Volusia County School district told News 6 that there was no disruption on campus and the students were arrested at the end of the school day.

Lee agreed that campus safety was never at risk, thanks in part to the tip from the student who knew something was wrong. 

"I think you are seeing that more and more today, both in the communities and the schools and if something is happening, and you think it's a concern, you need to say something to somebody so that officials can get involved," Lee said. "It may be the school or the police."


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