A 23-year-old man was arrested Saturday after West Palm Beach police found him asleep in a stairwell at Palm Beach Day Academy with a loaded 9mm handgun among his belongings, just as staff were preparing the campus for the upcoming school year. Maurice Madrid was charged with trespass on school property while possessing a firearm, a third-degree felony under Florida law, and was booked into the West Palm Beach Police Department's facility without incident.
According to WPBF, officers responded to the school at approximately 12:15 p.m. after a teacher spotted an unknown man inside the school building and staff reported an unauthorized individual on campus. School security personnel recognized Madrid from previous encounters on the property, the station reports. Officers ultimately found him seated on a stairwell landing on the south side of the campus.
Firearm Found Among Belongings
Madrid himself alerted officers to the presence of a firearm among his belongings, and a black KelTec 9mm handgun was recovered from his possessions, per the same account. KelTec, a Florida-based manufacturer headquartered in Cocoa, is known for ultra-compact, polymer-framed 9mm pistols designed for lightweight concealed carry, according to Firearms News. A records check found the gun had not been reported stolen. Police reportedly said Madrid told them he carried the firearm for protection.
Madrid told investigators he was homeless and had been sleeping in the school's stairwell, police said. He reportedly used the stairwell area near the dumpsters to charge his cellphone and access water, and had frequented that spot before. Officers advised him of his rights before transporting him to the booking facility.
What the Charge Carries
Florida Statute 810.095 classifies trespassing on any public or nonpublic school grounds while carrying a firearm as a third-degree felony, according to The Florida Senate. Under Florida Statutes 775.082 and 775.083, that charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, per the Mayberry Law Firm. Separately, Florida Statute 790.115 bars firearm possession on school grounds at any time, regardless of whether classes are in session, as explained by The Firearm Firm — a distinction that matters here since Madrid returned to campus during summer break, before students had returned. The charge remains an allegation, and Madrid is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. His case remains pending in the court system.
A Prominent Campus in El Cid
The arrest happened at Palm Beach Day Academy's Lower Campus on South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach's historic El Cid neighborhood, which serves students from PreK2 through third grade. Founded in 1921 as Florida's first independent school, the non-sectarian institution enrolls roughly 575 students from pre-primary through eighth grade across two campuses situated 1.3 miles apart, with its Upper Campus for grades 4 through 8 located on Seaview Avenue in Palm Beach, according to Palm Beach Day Academy. Florida law gives private school administrators broad authority to contract with law enforcement or private security to patrol campus perimeters and enforce trespass policies, which is how security staff came to recognize Madrid from prior encounters, per the Florida Attorney General's office.
Homelessness and Shelter Access in Palm Beach County
Madrid's account of sleeping in the stairwell for shelter surfaces amid a shifting statewide landscape for unhoused Floridians. In March 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1365, which took effect that October and bars local governments from allowing unauthorized public camping or sleeping on public lands, sidewalks, and rights-of-way, as detailed by Central Florida Public Media. The law also lets residents and business owners sue municipalities that fail to enforce sleeping bans.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach County's unsheltered homeless population dropped 28 percent, from 2,126 individuals in 2024 to 1,520 in 2025, according to annual Point-in-Time census data released by the Florida Department of Children and Families; chronic homelessness fell 30 percent over the same period. The county has designated $2.55 million annually from a countywide infrastructure surtax between fiscal years 2017 and 2026 toward emergency shelters and supportive housing as part of its Housing First strategy, per the Florida Senate.
This case echoes a separate incident Hoodline reported this month, in which a landlord pulled a gun on homeless men near a different Palm Beach County middle school, underscoring recurring friction between unhoused residents and school security around campus perimeters.
