Monarch High School {Aiden Palmer}
A woman was arrested at Monarch High School in Margate Thursday after a handgun fell out of her purse during a freshman orientation event, police said.
Cristina Yvonne Wilkes, 45, of Margate, was in the school’s cafeteria around 1:15 p.m. for the “Freshman Invasion” event when the gun fell out, according to Coconut Creek Police spokesman Scotty Leamon.
Wilkes told investigators she had unintentionally brought the gun with her onto the campus at 5050 Wiles Rd. and had not remembered it was in her purse. She was attending the freshman orientation for her child, police said.
Under state law, guns are not allowed to be brought onto Florida school campuses by citizens.
Wilkes was charged with felony possession of a firearm on school grounds.
Cristina Yvonne Wilkes {BSO}
Police said there was no evidence Wilkes planned to do anything illegal with the gun, which held a six-round magazine. It was not immediately clear whether the gun was loaded at the time.
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