Florida deputy’s 10-year-old son allegedly sold dead father’s gun to classmate for $300

The 10-year-old son of a Florida deputy is accused of selling his dead father’s gun to a classmate for $300.

Both 10-year-olds were arrested and face gun charges.

The sale was discovered when deputies received a call of a “suspicious incident” at Country Oaks Elementary School in LaBelle the morning of March 27, according to a news release from the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office.

The school was briefly placed on lockdown until officials determined there was no danger to students or staff.

“This is an isolated incident and I want to assure everyone that at no time were the students, staff and school administration in danger,” Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden said in the release.

Deputies said they found ammunition in the backpack of a student who is now accused of buying the gun. They learned another student sold it to him in February for $300, according to investigators.

Authorities found the gun under a shed in the backyard of the home of the student accused of buying it, deputies said. He was charged with sale/purchase of a firearm by a minor, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor and possession of a firearm on school property.

His classmate was charged with selling a firearm to a minor, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a firearm on school property and grand theft of a firearm, according to deputies.

They were both taken into custody and booked with the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The child accused of selling the gun is the son of a deputy with the sheriff’s office, and the gun had previously belonged to the child’s father, authorities said.

The deputy has been placed on administrative leave as the department investigates.

LaBelle is in southwest Florida, about a 30-mile drive northeast from downtown Fort Myers.