Luckily, no one was hurt when a mixture of household chemicals brought to school on Monday by a 16-year-old student blew up. Unluckily for the student, Kiera Wilmot, she was arrested on Wednesday and charged with possession and discharge of a weapon on school grounds. She has also since been expelled.
Station WTSP reports that the Wilmot is regarded as an exemplary student by the staff at Batow (Fla.) High School. Principal Ron Pritchard told reporters, “She is a good kid. She has never been in trouble before. Ever,” adding:
She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to ever hurt anyone. She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked too.
The girl’s friends and classmates defend her as well, saying it was “a science project gone bad.”
But her science teacher insists that the explosion was not associated with any school project. He is the one who called the police.
Polk County Schools released this statement on Thursday:
Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School yesterday was a serious breach of conduct. In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules. We urge our parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff.
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