Orange County deputies search for gunman who robbed students walking to school

Westridge Middle School students cellphones stolen, cops say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County deputies are searching for the gunman they say robbed four students walking to school on Wednesday morning.

[AUDIO: ConnectORANGE sent out to parents]

Deputies said the students were walking to Westridge Middle School at 8:30 a.m. when a teen held four students at gunpoint and stole their cellphones.

There were three separate incidents in the area of Oak Ridge Road near John Young Parkway and Texas Avenue. The gunman appears to be the same in all three cases, according to deputies.

Two young teens were walking through Bonita Fountain Apartments to school when they were approached by two older teens armed with a gun stealing their iPhone and Android phone, deputies said.

Fifteen minutes later, a 12-year-old walking near the Royal Palms Apartments said a suspect put a gun to his face and asked for his cellphone, according to the report. The boy ran away and got to school safely with his smartphone.

The third robbery on Pineway Drive, the gunman became more aggressive, deputies said, and pushed a 13-year-old girl to the ground when she tried to take back her phone.

Deputies described the gunman as a black male, 16 or 17 years old, about 110 pounds, armed with a handgun. In the robbery at Bonita Fountains Apartments the gunman had an accomplice, described by deputies as a young, heavy-set black male between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall.

School officials contacted parents at Westridge Middle School to notify them about the robberies.

Contact the Orange County Sheriff's Office or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-8477 if you have any information on the robberies.


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