GENERATION UNDER FIRE

Amid a legal battle that could be decided by the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a measure that will ratchet up a ban on local gun regulations.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Rockledge High School was put on lockdown Tuesday morning after a student reported seeing a gun on campus that was later determined to be a wooden ROTC rifle, Brevard County School District officials said. According to a news release, a student reported a weapon on campus after seeing a ROTC student carrying a wooden rifle, which is used to practice drills and formations. Officials said the ROTC student was located off-campus with the drill rifle and will not be facing any charges. School district officials sent out a release to parents to notify them of the incident. Message sent to Rockledge High School parents (WKMG)Rockledge High School was cleared to resume normal school operations just before 10 a.m., authorities said.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission is meeting in Central Florida to discuss their second annual report on findings and recommendations for school safety. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who is the commission chair, opened the meeting on Tuesday with a discussion about a recent incident in Volusia County. Complacency is an issue that the commission spoke about, as some districts in Florida have had trouble complying with school safety mandates following the Parkland school shooting in 2018. "If you call the school today and say 'I'm going to shoot it up,' that's not a crime," Gualtieri said. After the two-day meeting, the commission will finalize their report before submitting it to the governor on Nov. 1.

The world received news Saturday of a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Less than a day later, another mass shooting happened in a popular Dayton, Ohio, neighborhood. The shooting in El Paso has now become one of the top 10 deadliest shootings in modern U.S. history. The deadliest mass shooting took place on Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, when Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. It is the fourth deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

Dawn is a Digital Content Editor who has been with Graham Media Group since April 2013. She graduated from Texas State University with a degree in electronic media.

WINDERMERE, Fla. – Orange County Public Schools conducted an active assailant response exercise at Windermere High School on Wednesday. [RELATED: What should you do if faced with an active shooter situation? | Students protect school, prepare classmates for active shooter situation]"This is all about a lot of improvements. The exercise began with a police officer who acted as an active shooter on campus making his way into a building. *TRAINING EXERCISE* Rescue workers are training to save victims in case of a mass shooting.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Orlando Police Department paramedic Josh Granada is convinced 10-inch long pieces of decommissioned fire hose could actually prevent an active shooter from getting past classroom doors. In July, The Beaver County Times reported a joint program between Pennsylvania’s Ambridge Fire Department and the school district to use old hose cut into sleeves. News 6, sent a video report to Orange County Public School officials Tuesday to ask if the country’s ninth-largest school district might use the sleeves as part of its safety protocol. Tiffany Parker, a kindergarten teacher at Tonganoxie Elementary School in Kansas used old fire hose to line up volleyball practice drills. A school district spokesperson issued the following statement to News 6:“While it's a unique product, we don't feel it's an option for us here in our district.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – For those who missed the original deadline when it came to applying for the Volusia County School Guardian Program, there's now another chance. Chitwood approached the school board on Monday to ask if they could re-open the application process to have more people apply. "They'll be hired by the school board. [RELATED: Volusia County school guardians in training feel weight of protecting students]The guardian program was implemented in Volusia County to help keep children safe in schools and is part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The school board has agreed to provide web belts, polo shirts and body armor.