Mother arrested after handgun found in 5-year-old child’s backpack at Madison County Central School
“At no time were students or staff in danger, and the firearm was never displayed or handled by the student,” according to the Madison County School District
MADISON, Fla. (WCTV) - A Madison mother is behind bars after a handgun was found in her 5-year-old child’s backpack at Madison County Central School late Monday morning, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Zane Turner, 25, was taken into custody the same day and faces charges of violation of safe storage of a firearm and neglect of a child, the sheriff’s office wrote in a press release Monday afternoon.
Turner’s arrest comes after an MCSO school resource deputy was contacted by a Madison County Central School staff member regarding a handgun found by a Pre-K teacher inside a backpack that belonged to a 5-year-old student, per the release.
The incident unfolded just after 11:15 a.m., the Madison County School District announced in a social media post.
“The class teacher had safely secured the handgunwhile preventing other students from seeing it,” the sheriff’s office said.
“At no time were students or staff in danger, and the firearm was never displayed or handled by the student,” the school district said in its post.
Within one minute, the school resource deputy responded and took possession of the semi-automatic handgun, per MCSO. “The handgun was complete with a magazine and not loaded and thankfully no ammunition was present,” deputies said.
More on crime in our area
Shortly after, investigators responded to the school campus and began to investigate where and how the gun ended up in the 5-year-old’s backpack.
Subsequently, authorities contacted Turner and interviewed her just before taking her into custody, per the sheriff’s office.
This is an ongoing investigation as authorities work to determine “if anyone else from the child’s household is involved,” the press release said.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here to get started.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.
