Student Charged With Bringing Gun To Galaxy Middle School

Date Added: May 10, 2023 4:46 pm

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

Update (5/12/23): The second student seen in the Instagram video described below has been arrested.

Zy’Qwan Stafford, 14 (DOB 9/1/2008), of DeLand, is charged with being a principal to possessing a firearm on school property, a felony.

Detectives identified Zy’Qwan in the video, determined he was a willing participant in the incident and never notified school authorities about the presence of a firearm at school.

Of note, Zy’Qwan has also been charged by the DeLand Police Department in a shooting that was reported May 7. In that case, the gunshot victim arrived at a hospital in Altamonte Springs for treatment of a gunshot wound to the leg. Initially, the location of the shooting was undetermined. Sheriff’s detectives interviewed the victim and determined he was shot in the city of DeLand. The shooting stemmed from an altercation over a fake $100 bill exchanged for marijuana. (Note: This is a separate “fake $100 bill for marijuana” incident from the one that prompted another shooting incident Thursday in Deltona.)

For further information on the DeLand shooting arrest, please contact DeLand PD.

Also of note: The gun displayed in the Instagram video at Galaxy Middle School has not been located as of this writing. Interviews with the juveniles involved indicated it was stolen from another student who stole it from a vehicle. While detectives initially believed the gun was the same one discovered stolen from a vehicle May 5 in Deltona, it’s since been determined the gun seen in the Instagram video doesn’t match that firearm.

Original news release:

STUDENT CHARGED WITH BRINGING GUN TO GALAXY MIDDLE SCHOOL

A student at Galaxy Middle School in Deltona has been charged with bringing a gun on campus, which was discovered when he posted an Instagram story showing off the gun inside a school bathroom.

The student, 15-year-old Isaiah Jones of Deltona, is charged with possession of a firearm on school property, a felony.

Deputies were notified of the Instagram story Tuesday night and identified Jones and another student in a video that appeared to take place in a Galaxy Middle School boys’ restroom.

In the video, Jones pointed a handgun at the camera, removed the magazine and showed that it contained at least one round of ammunition.

When confronted by deputies, Jones admitted to recording the video in the restroom but said it was recorded in the past.

The gun is believed to be a 9mm firearm that was stolen during a recent car burglary in Deltona. The owner of that gun told deputies he discovered it missing from his vehicle’s glove box on May 5. He indicated he thought his vehicle was locked, but wasn’t sure, and there were no signs of forced entry to the vehicle.

Additional charges are pending in the active investigation.

Jones is the second juvenile defendant in Deltona recently arrested in a case involving a stolen gun. Last week, a 13-year-old Deltona boy was charged in a series of car break-ins that included another theft of a handgun. The gun was discovered by his mother during a search of the family’s home.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood is issuing a reminder to gun owners that weapons left unsecured in vehicles are prime targets for theft, and can easily end up in the wrong hands with potentially tragic results.