right now one news channel 8 at 5:30. a gun found at an elementary school and then it goes off. tonight questions about who brought this gun to the school and why. i'm josh benson. >> i'm jennifer leigh and thanks for joining us. just minutes ago citrus county deputies told us with a gun at the school belongs to. we go live from rock crusher elementary in citrus county and parents have been waiting all day for this information. >> reporter: that's what parents have been telling us. after school authorities were able to go through surveillance

gun belonged to. it was a dad dropping his son off during his early morning program. he didn't realize the gun hell out of his pocket through a hole in his cargo pants. this incident had school officials and parents very worried. when monique heard there was a loaded gun at her child school she panicked. >> it's very scary. >> reporter: school authorities say the gun was discovered after 8:00 this morning were parents drop-off children for pre-carrot the back of rock crusher elementary school. >> apparent notice the weapon he contracted one of our employees who came out and secured the weapon. they thought the weapon was a pellet gun.>> reporter: they soon learned that was a pistol similar to this one. this areas where the gun was found. a custodian picked it up thinking it was a bb gun. he came over here put his hand over the fence and fired a shot into the ground. >> there were no children

vicinity when that happened. children were inside but the weapon did discharge on campus. truck >> reporter: luckily no one hurt and school staff notified the sheriff's office. >> we sent over detectives to look at surveillance video to see who may have left the gun set it down accidentally dropping off students. >> reporter: an accident they say could have turned out worse. it's a school. you don't need to bring your gun in a school.>> reporter: even though this man has a concealed permit to carry the authorities say they will turn the case over to the state's attorney's office for further review. >> what about the employee who fired the weapon? the sea face any disciplinary action?>> reporter: that is hard to say right now. i asked the school authorities

investigation but remember, he thought it was a toy bb gun and was trying to shoot the pellets out. they say he should have contacted the school resource officer first. >> a scary day all the way around. thank you. tonight investigators trying to figure out what sparked the fire that destroyed a bay area church. josh thomas joins us live in haines city and church leaders and members trying to figure out how to move on. >> reporter: yes they are and quite frankly they don't have a definitive answer what they will be doing next. as you can tell there's not much left of what was a popular church here. there were people inside when the flames started showing in another part of the church. this is what the baptist church look like at the height of the fire. 25 parishioners inside about to start bible study when the

>> you come up and see it and i went inside and told the >> reporter: everyone escaped without injury but the church is a total loss. >> to see it go down in flames and there was nothing we could do but stand there and despair it hurt us all. the church is empty and that's how most of us are feeling now. >> reporter: the church has been a mainstay in the it's the first church to cater to haitians in haines city's and some members overwhelm by the destruction. other area pastors heard about the fire and offered to open their doors for church services. >> we come together in times like these and they will get through it. they will have a place to worship again this sunday. >> reporter: the fire marshall are looking into the cause of the blaze. >> i don't know what appears to be suspicious at this time. but to rule out any possibility they are treating it as though

right determination. >> reporter: for now members left trying to figure out what's next. >> were going to get something good out of this. i know god will bless us with something better. we will leave it in his hands. >> reporter: to make matters worse the church building was not insured. the pastor tells me they had a hard time finding an insurance agency that wanted to cover the 80-year-old building so now one more issue to deal with tonight. >> a congregation with a lot on their plate. josh thomas thanks for the update. new video tonight shows a gas station robert that deputies need help finding. as the robber runs behind the counter he orders the clerk to empty the cache to work and puts his hand to the woman's head claiming he had a gun inside a sock. then he demands lottery tickets as well. if you recognize the sky call hillsborough county deputies or

searching for a newborn baby. the infant's mother gave birth monday and claims she quote discarded the child. susan richardson behind bars child with abrogated calvin lutz but the baby girl has never been seen and her boyfriend claims she was not there. >> i came home and i saw blood everywhere. >> investigators looking for someone who may have seen richardson give birth possibly outside. a crazy story. the south florida teenager accused of posing as a doctor and even opened up his own medical office. 18-year-old malachi love- robinson rented a suite at the medical office in west palm beach and to an outsider he appears legit. he's listed where patients can find local doctors. go physician down the hall is shocked. >> i've heard of these things happening but you are right, i never thought it would happen in this building. >> police busted the teen when

the teen performed a physical exam and offered his suppose it medical advice. tonight we don't have won the record $1 billion powerball jackpot in florida. >> one of the tickets own -- sold in melbourne beach and that couple cashed in today.>> reporter: the past month hasn't been easy and david kaltschmindd and maureen smith. >> we lost a lot of sleep. i lost over 10 pounds. that's a lot of pacing at night. >> it's america's favorite jackpot game. >> reporter: keeping a $500 million secret is tough in the melbourne beach couple had one of three winning tickets from last month's $1.5 billion powerball jackpot they claimed the winnings wednesday opting to take a $320 million lump sum. >> we didn't believe it. we kept watching tv and going online and rechecking. >> then they announced the publix store in melbourne beach

deal. >> reporter: smith says the winning numbers are the ones she picked and she uses them every time she wants to play. they only bought two tickets. a $3 investment.>> reporter: the jackpot started november 7 and kept rolling over until january 13 when it seem like almost everyone in the country bought a ticket. all the jackpot rollovers added up to $114 million for the state department of education. the big question is what will they do with the money? >> he wants to get a new car. i want to get a massage. >> reporter: news channel 8 in tallahassee. >> the tennessee winner step forward days after the drawing and also opted for the lump sum payment that's around $380

come forward yet. people talking about the latest breakthrough in relations with cuba. >> coming up how you can travel to cuba easier for the first time in 50 years. are you ready for the ride of your life? a sneak peek at busch gardens newest thrill ride. lots of sunshine lifted our temperature to 75 degrees. that's a preview of coming attractions and the next few days suite into the weekend. your forecast coming up. that and more coming up you were watching news channel 8 the station that's always on

soon people hoping to travel to and from cuba have more options. the u. s. and cuban government signed an agreement to open commercial flights to the island nation of ryan carter live at tampa international airport to show how the bay area can benefit from this.>> reporter: this is a huge deal and we could see a lot more planes and carmax heading out to cuba. it could be five times more flights to have been alone. hilda is from orlando when she drove to tampa to pick up her husband from the airport was coming home from cuba. she is excited to hear of the new deal between the cuban and u. s. governments to open up commercial air travel. >> i think it's way better and i think i would like it closer to home. opening more airport so that way it can come to us and we don't have to drive so far to take them and pick them up. >> reporter: not everyone thinks this will happen. she is waiting for her mother

first time she seen her in five years and hesitant about the deal. >> i don't know, cuba has a lot of government issues and i'm not sure if they will accept this. we will see what happens. >> reporter: under the agreements airlines can operate 110 daily flights to cuba. right now from tia perry riley seven weekly flights to cuba and five to have deanna. >> we think we are well positioned to serve commercial flights and charter flights have done well.>> reporter: earning the airport $1 million a year but for people like hilda this is when -- what it's all about. more chances to see family than ever before. and exactly how many flights we're talking about coming to tia or leaving from tia we do not know. that's up in the air.

speculate on that but i will say tampa has a large cuban- american population so it stands to reason we will have a large percentage of the pie. we will keep you posted and all the airlines who want to fly there have until march 2 to make an application with the department of transportation. >> a couple more weeks to put their bids in. live and appreciated. coming up at 6:00 and 11:00 you can see more of jeff patterson's reports from cuba as an group explores business opportunities there. big money for cultural organizations. leaders discuss what the money will go towards and at the tampa theatre they plan to put the $325,000 toward groundwater improvements. they believe it's important we invest in cultural facilities. >> i believe cultural arts can be the center of what makes our county a great place to live,

aquarium and zoom and history center will each receive the same amount of money coming from the capital asset preservation. attribute for a fall in tarpon springs police officer. the blue alert foundation saving a heroes place in tarpon springs police awarded at on her chair today for officer charles conduct who died in the line of duty in december 2014. family and friends are grateful for this gesture. >> charlie was a hero. he was a great father, family man and something like this always keeps his memory alive and that's the most important thing. >> three officers and their spouses from the san antonio texas police department drove 18 hours to present the honor chair. italian divers made an incredible discovery today. they found the world war ii plane that went down in 1942.

was 124 feet underwater. the plane was shot down by the british army on august 14 and it was 124 feet underwater. the plane was shot down by the british army on august 14, 1942. the parents olympic committee unveiled its bid to hold the 2024 olympic games and its slogan is the power of dreams. it plans to highlight paris as it is today with its cosmopolitan young population. boehms historic monuments are at the center of its bid for the 2024 olympics. organizers say many of the required facilities are up and running and only need upgrades. the post for hill city takes place 2017 a los angeles also in the running to host the 2024 games. a new roller coaster at busch gardens and construction crews putting final touches on cobra's curse. once you get in the car it starts by taking you in the air and you are staring face to

the snake puts a curse on your car and then you start your training a half minute 40 mph journey to escape the larger- than-life reptile. cobra curse is a family- friendly ride. a few high clouds at the plantation and crystal river and temperatures 63 degrees and westwind 7 miles per hour and mostly clear skies elsewhere. a few high clouds but clear conditions stay with us. northeast winds at 5 miles per hour this is that frenchie's and clearwater beach. lois at saint pete 64 degrees in northwest wind at 10 miles per hour with 80% relative humidity. in our headlines high pressure keeps it sunny and dry days ahead. comfortable weather conditions overall pick of the dew point is relatively low. next storm system brings back rain chances tuesday into wednesday. still working out the timing but after the chance of showers blows through likely cooler. this evening 64 degrees the most the clear skies.

day. very nice and cooler than normal at 49 degrees and mostly sunny skies and bit of a breeze from the northeast. 72 degrees in the afternoon and more sunshine with breezy northeasterly winds a beautiful day overall. look at with the from clearwater beach. he's enjoying the day. the dog days of february that's what this is called. lots of sunshine for him to enjoy. 64 this evening. 49 degrees at daybreak and in the afternoon tomorrow 72 degrees a high. gorgeous weather. that's what's going on now. 64 clearwater beach. 69 state pete. dip in the jet stream allows the ridge of high pressure we've been talking about for a week coming in from the west setting up warmer temperatures for those who want it warmer

we have been cool of late. into monday, tuesday, wednesday we see cooler air building behind the rain chances and the upper level change affects the weather at the surface. that's why we show you the jet stream's and you see the dip allows cool air to move further south. quite a bit of dry air high above water vapor colored in red back making for blue skies in many locations. high pressure the big teacher and continues to control with the flow around clockwise giving a northeasterly breeze. on the computer model you see the northeasterly wind continues with lines of equal pressure indicating northeasterly flow. sunny skies and a bit breezy. high temperatures low 70s. 75 high today and weak secondary front passed through the area. wind shift and cooler drier air takes away fog risk as well for tomorrow morning. friday morning, typical february temperatures. by the afternoon looks good and nice weekend with eastern,

sunday 76 degrees and same for monday. rain chance tuesday and wednesday and behind that expecting cooler temperatures to go into the area. nice stretch of weather and doesn't mean we can't get cooler weather. we're still in february and cold fronts can still make impact on our temperatures. >> thank you much. new information tonight in the flint michigan water crisis adding insult to injury. why writers on the boston son -- subway had to break the

now what's making headlines across america. video and other evidence of police involved shooting will release quicker under new rules in chicago. it took chicago more than a year to release the video of jason vandyke shooting laquan mcdonald 16 times in that called for cries for rahm emanuel to resign. they were now released video and 60 days and not 90. a study finds people of flint michigan don't just have on drinkable water but paid the highest rate in the country for the toxic water. food and water watch conducted that study and found flint michigan residents paid $864 per year for water service which is nearly double the national average.

riders in boston when smoke filled to subway cars. passengers on board began kicking out windows of the train to get out. you see in the pictures the train ran over a metal panel that fell off disabling the train and that caused the motor to overheat and the smoke filled to train cars. no one hurt. blazing fire destroyed a dallas church. look at these flames. it took firefighters hours to put out the fire and fortunately no one hurt. no word on what sparked the blaze. news channel 8 at 6:00 coming up next. >> we will go over what we are working on. a would-be drug thieves trying to get his hands are narcotics. >> he picked the wrong pharmacy. we will hear from a customer who went above and beyond to take down the bad guy. boosting efforts to combat zika in tampa bay but it will come cheap.

taxpayers have to shell out. champion boxer antonio tarver owns a fortune in child support in hillsborough county. u. s. airlines have days to apply for new routes to cuba. where those flights might be coming from next. those stories posture storm team eight forecast and sports with dan lucas coming up and news channel 8. the station

right now on news channel 8 at 6:00. a drug heist goes very wrong for the bad guy. he's taken down and knocked out by a customer. the magic man keeps on misbehaving cashing in on the fight he was never supposed to box in. exclusives coverage from cuba. a new deal could make travel to

good evening i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm keith cate and thanks for joining us. a drug store beat down caught on tape. a man goes in a drug store says he has a gun at the man's narcotics but it becomes clear he picked the wrong place at the wrong time. surveillance video shows a customer jumping into action taking down a would-be thief and holding him until police arrived. john rogers spoke with the customer and joins us live from sarasota. this works out well in the end but the customer took a big chance. he had a gun.>> reporter: he did take a big chance. looking at the video it looks like something out of an action movie. it's part love story too because the customer was trying to protect his girlfriend. this criminal was taken down