POLK COUNTY, Fla. — An 18-year-old faces charges after showing up to a private Catholic school and taking a "realistic-looking" fake gun out of the car he was driving, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. His actions outside the school caused the school to go into lockdown and sparked a brief search for him.
It all started around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Resurrection Catholic Church and private school on Old Highway 37 in Lakeland. According to deputies, a school employee on her lunch break in the school parking lot reportedly saw 18-year-old Adrian Araujo-Garcia.
The employee reportedly told deputies she saw Araujo-Garcia first at the front of the church and then saw him walk to a silver Honda Civic. Once there, the employee saw him open the door and take what appeared to be a silver gun from the car and put a magazine in it, deputies said. Araujo-Garcia then got into the car and left the parking lot.
The employee immediately called 911 and told another employee to put the school on lockdown. Once deputies arrived, a description of Araujo-Garcia and the car he was driving, as well as surveillance images of both, were quickly released to the public.
It didn't take long before Araujo-Garcia saw the photos of him on social media and he called the sheriff's office just as deputies were on their way to the home the Civic was registered to, the agency said. The car was registered to one of Araujo-Garcia's relatives.
When questioned by deputies, Araujo-Garcia reportedly told them he went to the church to pray. When he got into the car, he reportedly saw the toy gun in the back seat and grabbed it. He reportedly said it appeared to be "jammed," so he picked it up and tried to "clear the jam," firing it into the front floorboard.
Deputies said they found the fake gun, which resembled a "realistic-looking plastic replica of a Glock model 18 handgun, with a white slide and removable magazine." According to the sheriff's office, the gun is "nearly indistinguishable" from a real gun, especially from a distance.
The sheriff's office confirmed that there was never a threat to the students and staff at the school.
Araujo-Garcia was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing/interrupting school function.
“I thank the staff and leadership of the Resurrection Catholic Church school for making sure there is a school resource deputy on campus to help protect their students and faculty from harm," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "I also sincerely appreciate the person who let us know they saw who they believed was a man in the parking lot with a gun. Our deputy immediately responded and there was a quick and thorough response from Lakeland Police Department officers and Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies. There was a deputy there in seconds as opposed to a 911 call and response that can take minutes. We were able to identify the suspect within 90 minutes and we had him in custody within 2 ½ hours. We cannot emphasize enough to people how important it is that if they see something, or hear something, to say something to law enforcement so we can investigate and keep people safe.”
