OMEN
01-19-2008, 08:42 PM
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When a little boy cried in court, he looked nothing like a hardened criminal. But the 8-year-old has been charged with bringing a loaded semi-automatic handgun to his Orange County elementary school.
The boy even showed the gun off to classmates who helped him hide it. Investigators said 8-year-old Antonio Cole blurted out that he had found the gun under his uncle's bed and brought it to Clarcona Elementary School because his friends told him to.
But once his aunt got arrived at the school, she would not allow him to talk. Friday in court he cried and cried, just like he did Thursday when he got caught with the gun.
Antonio Cole is barely three feet high. His aunt said his mother lives in Philadelphia and that he's been in trouble before, there and in Orange County.
"I can see he's remorseful. He's crying. He cried yesterday," said Judge Jeffrey Arnold.
The sheriff's report said the boy had told classmates on Wednesday that he was going to bring a gun to school Thursday and hide it in the bushes. No one told the school and he ended up doing just that.
The report said Cole brought the loaded semi-automatic handgun to the playground and showed it to some other children who then hid it in the bushes nearby. One student told a teacher that the gun was there and the teacher brought it to the principal.
Cole's aunt denies that he got the gun from her house. Even so, the judge ordered her to get rid of any firearms or ammunition in her home.
The parent of a Clarcona Elementary student is concerned for her daughter, but does not blame the 8-year-old boy.
"It's not his fault. It's whoever raised him. He's being exposed to things that 8-year-olds should not be exposed to," said Deanna Smith, a concerned parent.
Prosecutors wanted Cole to stay in custody calling him a danger to the community, but the boy was released back to his aunt after spending a night in custody. He's been suspended and could be expelled from Clarcona Elementary School.
wftv.
The boy even showed the gun off to classmates who helped him hide it. Investigators said 8-year-old Antonio Cole blurted out that he had found the gun under his uncle's bed and brought it to Clarcona Elementary School because his friends told him to.
But once his aunt got arrived at the school, she would not allow him to talk. Friday in court he cried and cried, just like he did Thursday when he got caught with the gun.
Antonio Cole is barely three feet high. His aunt said his mother lives in Philadelphia and that he's been in trouble before, there and in Orange County.
"I can see he's remorseful. He's crying. He cried yesterday," said Judge Jeffrey Arnold.
The sheriff's report said the boy had told classmates on Wednesday that he was going to bring a gun to school Thursday and hide it in the bushes. No one told the school and he ended up doing just that.
The report said Cole brought the loaded semi-automatic handgun to the playground and showed it to some other children who then hid it in the bushes nearby. One student told a teacher that the gun was there and the teacher brought it to the principal.
Cole's aunt denies that he got the gun from her house. Even so, the judge ordered her to get rid of any firearms or ammunition in her home.
The parent of a Clarcona Elementary student is concerned for her daughter, but does not blame the 8-year-old boy.
"It's not his fault. It's whoever raised him. He's being exposed to things that 8-year-olds should not be exposed to," said Deanna Smith, a concerned parent.
Prosecutors wanted Cole to stay in custody calling him a danger to the community, but the boy was released back to his aunt after spending a night in custody. He's been suspended and could be expelled from Clarcona Elementary School.
wftv.