NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A staff member at a local high school is accused of hiding a student's guns in her house after shots were fired on Monday afternoon, New Port Richey police report.
Officers responded to a call of shots fired at 4 p.m. near Van Buren Street and Main Street. After an investigation, they said they discovered that a group of teen boys had purchased illegal guns.
One of the boys reportedly attended Gulf High School and contacted one of the school's staff members following the incident. Police said Emily Medina, a 20-year-old disciplinary aid at the school, picked up the teen and drove him away from the scene.
Officers said Medina then hid the two handguns, ammunition and a backpack at her house so the teen could not be criminally charged.
Once all the items were recovered at her house, Medina was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and tampering with evidence. Additional charges are pending.
The Pasco County School Board was notified. 10 Tampa Bay reached out to the school district which provided the following statement:
"Ms. Medina has been placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure when a district employee faces charges. She began working for our school district in August as a discipline assistant at Gulf High School."