A 16-year-old Florida high school student said he was suspended for three days for wrestling a loaded gun away from a teen threatening to shoot.
Fox4Now.com reported the student, who attends Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, tackled the 15-year-old suspect on a school bus after he allegedly pointed the weapon at another student.
"I think he was really going to shoot him right then and there," said an unidentified student.
The 16-year old was then suspended the next day for his role in an "incident" where a weapon was present and given an "emergency suspension," Fox4Now.com reported. The boy's mother said her son was suspended for his failure to fully cooperate with the investigation. His mother indicated that he was scared.
The suspected gunman was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school property and assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, the report stated. Sgt. David Valez of the Lee County Sheriff's Office told the station an investigation into the incident is ongoing. School officials declined to a request for comment from Fox4Now.com due to privacy issues.
The student said the suspect, a football player, threatened to shoot a teammate because he had been arguing with his friend.
"How they going to suspend me for doing the right thing?", the student reportedly asked.
"If there is a potentially dangerous situation, Florida law allows the principal to suspend a student immediately pending a hearing," Lee County School District spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said in a statement.
"Those kids had to fight for their lives," the mother of the suspended teen said. "All the kids that was involved in this they should have a pat on their backs because they did the right thing to save someone from burying their child."
The suspended teen is allowed to go back to school Monday.
