4-13-18-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY-
Marjory Stoneman High School teacher, Sean Simpson, faces criminal charges after he left his loaded 9 mm Glock gun in a public restroom.
Florida Local News 10 reports Simpson left his gun in a public bathroom that was found by a drunk homeless man who fired a shot according to the Broward Sheriff’s Department.
Simpson, 43, is a science teacher at Marjory Stoneman High School which was the sight where 17 teachers and students were gunned down on February 14 by former student Nikolas Cruz.
According to police, Simpson explained that he left the gun in a bathroom at the Deerfield Beach Pier on April 9. When he remembered that he left the gun he went back when he heard a gunshot. Inside the bathroom, he wrestled the gun from Joseph Spataro, 69, who fired the gun.
He was charged and arrested for failing to store a firearm safely which is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in prison. Spataro told police that he fired the gun to check if it was loaded. He was charged with firing a weapon while intoxicated and trespassing.
Although he’s expressed support for the students taking action with gun control, Simpson has expressed his support for the arming teachers with guns.
“I know there are some of us that are willing to take the training if it was offered and probably be another line of defense,” he explained. “But again that is a complicated subject and I’m not sure if it’s the answer. I think it’s easier to get these types of weapons out of the hands of people that aren’t meant to do anything but kill.”
