- A high school in Florida has been raffling guns to raise money, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.
- On Wednesday James Madison Preparatory High School gave away a $2,000, 16-gauge shotgun.
- The raffle was briefly paused after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
A Florida charter school has given away handguns, shotguns, and an AK-47 as part of a month-long fundraiser, The Tallahassee Democrat reported Wednesday, pausing briefly out of respect for the 21 people shot to death at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
It is not clear if officials at James Madison Preparatory School — located an hour's drive east of Tallahassee — conducted any background checks before transferring the weapons to winners, who entered a raffle by buying $100 tickets, The Democrat noted.
According to the Giffords Law Center, neither federal nor state law "requires sellers who are not licensed dealers to initiate a background check when transferring a firearm."
Winners were announced on a Facebook live stream. On Wednesday, the school held its final drawing in the raffle, giving away a Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen, a 16-gauge shotgun that retails for around $2,000.
The winner's name was picked out of a raffle drum operated by assistant principal Patrick White.
Neither White nor Principal Mark Akerman immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment.
The charter school had 175 students as of the 2020-21 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On its Facebook page, the school describes its approach as "rooted in a liberal arts curriculum emphasizing STEM disciplines and skill development."
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