LEESBURG, Fla. — Police arrested a Leesburg High School student after a K9 sniffed out a gun in his backpack during an unannounced check, according to the Leesburg Police Department.
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Unannounced school checks are routinely conducted to search students for contraband, said a Leesburg School Resource Officer.
On Thursday, K9 Samba alerted his handler to a backpack, which contained a vape pen, in a classroom which was absent of any students at the time.
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Officers searched the backpack and found a stolen loaded Glock 9mm handgun was found in the backpack.
Police tracked the backpack to a 9th-grade student who was arrested for felony gun possession, deputies said.
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LCSO said in addition to finding the gun, Samba also found three vapes and a cigar in other backpacks.
Just one week ago, Florida Attorney General Ashly Moody honored Samba with the Back the Blue Award for Samba’s outstanding performance in detecting vapes and THC in Lake County schools.
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