High School Bomb Threat Suspect, 15, Arrested: Tampa Police

TAMPA, FL — A 15-year-old boy accused of making a bomb threat against Middleton High School was arrested, Tampa police said in a news release.

Though police identified the suspect, it’s unknown whether the suspect is being charged as a juvenile or an adult yet. It’s Patch policy not to name minors who are charged as juveniles.

Officers learned about the threat just after midnight on Thursday, after a student at the school received a text message on Wednesday from the suspect, whom he knew from the previous school year, that read: "Middleton bomb," "Tomorrow."

Investigators quickly identified the suspect, who isn’t currently enrolled at the school, and arrested him at his Riverview home on Thursday just before 10:30 a.m.

He was booked into the Juvenile Assessment Center and charged with written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.

Early Thursday, the Tampa Police Bomb Squad swept the school campus to ensure there wasn’t an active threat before staff and students arrived. The school schedule wasn’t affected by the threat.

"Threatening the safety of a school is not a joke; it is a felony," Chief Lee Bercaw said. "Our detectives worked through the night to ensure students and teachers could arrive at a safe campus this morning. We have zero tolerance for this behavior, and we will continue to hold anyone who disrupts the peace of our educational community fully accountable."

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