Seminole schools face two weapon incidents, district warns families

Two Seminole County high schools were pulled into weapon investigations in the same day, putting district security measures under immediate pressure and sending a fresh warning to families about what happens when a weapon gets onto campus.

At Seminole High School in Sanford, administrators acted on a tip that a student had a weapon on campus, Principal Michael Pfeiffer told families. Seminole County Public Schools said the school and the Ninth Grade Center went into code red “out of an abundance of caution” before the alert was downgraded to code yellow and then lifted. The district said all students and staff were safe and regular operations continued.

Sanford police later identified the Seminole High student as a 17-year-old. Police said the teen was found hiding in a closet and taken into custody without further issue. Officers recovered a gun near where the student was located. The teen faces charges of possession of a firearm under the age of 18, disruption of a school function and possession of a firearm on a school campus.

A separate weapon case unfolded the same day at Lyman High School in Longwood, where another student was detained after tips led investigators to the campus. Seminole County Public Schools said extra law enforcement and K9 weapon-detection officers were sent to both schools as the incidents were investigated. No injuries were reported in either case.

The incidents triggered a direct message from Superintendent Serita Beamon, who urged parents to check backpacks, secure firearms at home and talk with children about the danger of bringing guns or knives to school. Her warning was aimed at families across Seminole County, where district leaders said school safety depends on both prevention at home and rapid response on campus.

Seminole County Public Schools says its Office of School Safety and Security works with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the sheriff’s School Safety Division provides weapons-safety education in schools. District materials tell students to stop, don’t touch, run away and tell a trusted adult if they encounter a weapon. Beamon, appointed superintendent on March 1, 2021, is the district’s first woman superintendent and first African American superintendent.

For parents, Thursday’s back-to-back incidents showed how quickly a tip can lead to a lockdown-level response, a campus search and criminal charges. It also showed how much Seminole County schools are leaning on both enforcement and prevention after weapons were found at two high schools in one day.