On Thursday, Feb. 8, Sheriff Al Nienhuis and Hernando County School Superintendent John Stratton held a joint press conference to explain a series of events that unfolded over a 20-day period involving a 16-year-old Springstead High School student, Aaron McKinney, and the gun involved in the shooting that injured Hernando High student Aaron Laskey on Jan. 31.
It began around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 12 when Deputy T. Jones of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) located a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in Spring Hill. The deputy confronted a youth who was inside the vehicle. During the encounter, the teen shoved the deputy. The teen proceeded to flee on foot, with Deputy Jones giving chase. However, the suspect was able to elude the deputy, circle back to the stolen vehicle and drive away. The suspect subsequently crashed the vehicle on Mariner Boulevard. However, he fled the scene of the crash and was not apprehended at the scene. During the course of the investigation, the suspect was positively identified as Aaron McKinney.
Then, on Jan. 16, some students at Springstead High School reported to the school resource officer (SRO) that a student had shown a gun to students on the school bus earlier on the same day (Jan. 12) as the first incident involving the stolen vehicle. Surveillance video from the school bus confirmed the student was in possession of a gun on the school bus. The student with the gun on the school bus was Aaron McKinney, who deputies observed driving the stolen vehicle.
On Jan. 18, McKinney’s mother brought her son to the sheriff’s office because the HCSO had developed probable cause that her son was the individual driving the stolen vehicle.
The young man was turning himself in. However, he would not reveal any information about the weapon. He was arrested on charges of grand theft of a stolen vehicle, battery on a law enforcement officer, and fleeing to elude. He was transported to a juvenile detention facility in Ocala.
Fast-forward to Jan. 31. A 17-year-old Hernando High School student, Aaron Laskey, was the victim of a gunshot wound. Fortunately, the wound was not life-threatening. After talking to the victim and the young man who shot him, the sheriff’s investigators determined the shooting was accidental.
Upon further investigation, law enforcement confirmed that the firearm involved in the shooting was the same one that had been brought on the school bus more than two weeks earlier. However, neither of the individuals involved with the accidental shooting was Aaron McKinney, the suspect in the initial investigation, who was arrested on charges of grand theft of a stolen vehicle, battery on a law enforcement officer, and fleeing to elude.
On Feb. 7, after meeting with the State Attorney’s Office, the HCSO also charged McKinney with possessing or discharging a weapon or firearm at a school-sponsored event on school property. He remains incarcerated at the juvenile detention center in Ocala.
The one thing that Sheriff Nienhuis emphasized at the press conference and that he wanted to make students, parents and the public aware of is that if you witness an incident such as the one on the school bus in which lives could be endangered or maybe lost, you need to report it immediately.
He emphasized that had the incident been reported the day it happened, the accused would likely have not been able to steal the vehicle and Aaron Laskey most likely would not have been shot.
Then, Superintendent Stratton urged parents to have a serious talk with their children about reporting anything like this. He stressed that information can be passed on to law enforcement anonymously.
In order to save lives and prevent injuries, It is critical that any suspicious activity or violations of the law be reported immediately.
This case is an ongoing investigation and more details will be forthcoming as they are made known.
Timeline of Events:
• 1/12/24 (2:28 p.m.): Accused shows gun to students on bus
• 1/12/24 (11:30 p.m.): Accused found with a stolen car but eludes deputy
• 1/16/24: students notify SRO of the bus incident
• 1/18/24: Mother of accused brings him to sheriff’s office and he’s arrested on stolen vehicle charge
• 1/31/24: 17-year-old accidentally shot by friend and law enforcement determines that the gun involved in the incident is the same one that the accused had brought on the bus
• 2/7/24: Accused is charged with the second crime
