Elementary school teacher arrested after allegedly bringing a loaded gun, knives to class
A fourth-grade teacher “acting suspiciously” at school was arrested after she allegedly carried a loaded gun inside her backpack.
A spokesperson from Pinellas County Schools in Largo, Florida tells Yahoo Lifestyle that Starkey Elementary School principal Audrey Chaffin observed fourth-grade teacher Betto Soto, 49, behaving oddly on Monday, unable to part with her backpack. That included during a fire drill, reported Fox 13.
Chaffin called the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and officers discovered a Glock 9mm handgun with seven rounds of ammunition in Soto’s bag, left exposed to fourth-grade students. A police report sent to Yahoo Lifestyle stated Soto also had a 6-inch Karambit fighting knife hidden in the pocket of her pants and two 20-inch finger push knives attached to the straps of her backpack.
Betty Jo Soto now faces two misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed weapon, according to the Pinellas County Schools police. https://t.co/5eM1fBaAL3
— tbt* (@tbtnewspaper) May 21, 2019
On her way out of jail, Betty Soto, accused of having a gun at Starkey Elementary said “talk to your governor.” (Pinellas has not approved allowing teachers to carry guns on campus. She had nothing further when I reminded her of this) pic.twitter.com/P0nNCiiU1T
— Evan Axelbank Fox13 (@EvanAxelbank) May 21, 2019
Soto has a concealed carry permit, but she is not allowed to bring weapons onto school property and was charged accordingly. The teacher did not return a voicemail from Yahoo Lifestyle. When a reporter from Fox 13 confronted Soto outside the Pinellas County jail after bonding out Monday night, she answered, “I have nothing to say…talk to DeSantis,” cryptically naming Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida.
On May 8, the Republican governor signed a measure to allow teachers to carry guns at school, reported U.S. News & World Report. However, Pinellas County Schools tells Yahoo Lifestyle it will not engage in the program.
Soto’s teaching contract wasn’t renewed before this incident, added the spokesperson. According to Fox 13, during her three years in the district, Soto has committed attendance and performance violations.
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