Seminole Teacher Arrested For Bringing Gun To School

SEMINOLE, FL -- Less than two weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to allow public school teachers to be armed, a fourth-grade teacher at a Seminole elementary school was arrested for doing just that.

Betty Jo Soto, 49, of 10th Avenue South in St. Petersburg, is accused of bringing a Glock 9 mm handgun loaded with seven rounds of ammunition to her job at Starkey Elementary School, 9300 86th Ave., on Monday.

School administrators said Soto was acting suspiciously, carrying her backpack everywhere she went and closely guarding it while she was with students in the classroom, so the principal notified authorities about Soto's "strange" behavior.

Officers with Pinellas County Schools and deputies with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office examined the backpack and found the 9 mm Glock along with a 6-inch fighting knife and a 2-inch finger knife.

She was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. She was transported to the Pinellas County Jail and bond was set at $500.

When she bonded out of jail Monday night, members of the media questioned her about her decision to bring a gun to school. She sharply responded, "Ask your governor."

Officials said Soto's Facebook page contained cryptic comments that may be related to her actions: "Are you surprised I'm a revolutionary? You should have seen it coming. Hate that I was on my way to the plantation, but I had to free some minds."

Soto was a teacher with Pinellas County Schools for three years. School district officials said she won't be returning to the classroom.

Soto pleaded not guilty to the charges against her during a court hearing on Tuesday.

On May 8, DeSantis signed the controversial bill allowing school districts in Florida to arm teachers. The new law, which goes into effect Oct. 1, will allow teachers to have guns in the classroom to protect students and staff following the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco county school districts have all declined to participate in the voluntary program to train and arm teachers.