Dunbar High School student in custody for taking gun to school

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A Dunbar High School student is under arrest after carrying a gun onto school property and then trying to flee.

Administrators at Dunbar High School received an anonymous tip that a student named “Steven” may be in possession of a gun.  Based on that information, school administrators went on the lookout for all “Stevens” arriving on campus.

As one of the school buses arrived, administrators observed a student they know, 18-year-old Steven Barnes, exit the bus. As Barnes approached administrators, they say he had an odor of marijuana on him.

Barnes was escorted to the nearest office in the gym area and informed that he was being administratively searched due to the extremely strong odor of marijuana on him.

Officials say Barnes refused to be searched and his demeanor became more angry and aggressive.  The school resource officer then placed his arms around Barnes to detain him.  At that time, the deputy felt a hard item in the front waist area of Barnes.

Barnes was then able to break free and fled from the office. The school resource officer deployed his taser to gain compliance of Barnes, but was unsuccessful.

Dunbar High School was placed on lock down while authorities searched for the teenager.  A short time later, a Lee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 apprehended Barnes hiding under a track mat, adjacent to the football field. As Barnes moved, a black handgun was observed in plain view under his abdomen.

Barnes was taken into custody and subsequently treated and released by Lee County EMS for his injuries.

“It’s a true credit to the school resource officer program, because it was good police work that was able to identify this student. so kudos go to the school resource officer for being able to track down this and eliminate this problem,” said Lt. Scott Lineberger.