Student Found With Weapon, Columbine Diaries At High School: Hillsborough Sheriff

RUSKIN, FL — A 17-year-old student was arrested Monday morning for bringing a weapon to Lennard High School in Ruskin, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The student was found with a knife, as well as a book of the Columbine High School shooters’ diaries, deputies said.

He was charged with possession of a weapon on school property.

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

A school resource deputy received an anonymous tip around 11:45 a.m. that a student had a weapon on school grounds.

While searching the student’s backpack, deputies found a pocket knife and a kitchen knife with a black handle and a 4-inch blade, the sheriff’s office said.

The book of the diaries by Eric Davis Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold, the shooters in the 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, was also in his backpack.

The student told investigators he brought the knife to school because of an ongoing dispute with other students.

He also told deputies that he had the Columbine diaries because he’s interested in true crime cases, the sheriff’s office said.

“This situation could have escalated quickly, but thanks to the vigilance of those who reported it and the swift response of our deputies, we were able to intervene before anyone was harmed,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “We take any threat to school safety seriously and will act immediately to protect our students and staff.”

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