Riverview Student Arrested After Bomb Threat Call To Spoto High School, Sheriff Says

RIVERVIEW, FL — A 17-year-old Spoto High School student was arrested after a bomb threat was called in against the Riverview school, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

School resource deputies were notified Wednesday of a bomb threat made by phone.

The school's receptionist received the call, and the caller asked, "Is this Spoto?" before saying he had planted a bomb on the first floor of the 200 building, the sheriff’s office said.

The caller then threatened that everyone was going to die before hanging up.

Deputies immediately searched the school, and no explosives or other threats were found.

During the investigation, detectives traced the phone number used in the threat to the parent of a 12th-grade student at the school.

Detectives met with the student and his mother at the school on Thursday, where they determined that the phone belongs to the teen’s family and that the student was the confirmed user of the device, the sheriff’s office said.

A review of the phone's call history showed Spoto High School, the sheriff’s office said.

The teen was arrested and charged with false report of a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and disrupting a school campus or function.

While the agency named the teen in the news release, it’s Patch policy not to name minors accused of a crime unless they’ve been charged as an adult. It’s not known whether the teen was charged as a juvenile or an adult.

"A bomb threat is not a joke, a prank or something we will ever take lightly," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "One call can create fear and disrupt an entire school. If you make a threat against one of our schools, we will find you, arrest you and hold you accountable."

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