Plant City Student Brought Gun To School, Prompting Hours-Long Lockdown: Police

PLANT CITY, FL — A Plant City High School student is facing charges after authorities said he brought a gun on campus, prompting an hours-long lockdown on Friday.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the agency was notified by a school resource officer and administrators around 8:25 a.m. that there was a student with a gun on campus.

Two people told authorities that a 16-year-old male student approached them and demanded cash while threatening to physically harm them. Patch is not identifying the student because he is a minor.

During the incident, the student showed them a gun inside his backpack, prompting one of the victims to give him money.

The report caused a campus-wide lockdown for most of the morning, WFLA reported.

Deputies located the student after the incident at his residence in Plant City. According to authorities, he told deputies he left the gun at his friend's house. Deputies went to the residence and found the money and the gun inside his friend's vehicle, the sheriff's office said. The gun was not loaded, and there was no ammunition.

The student was arrested and charged with:

• Tampering with physical evidence
• Two counts of robbery with a firearm (less than $750)
• Disrupting a school campus or function
• Minor in possession of a firearm
• Carrying a concealed firearm
• Possession of a firearm on school property

"Bringing a firearm onto a school campus and threatening students is a serious crime that will never be tolerated," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "Thanks to the quick response from the victims, the school and our deputies, this situation was addressed before anyone was harmed."

The investigation is ongoing.