TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Police arrested a 16-year-old student in Hillsborough County after a school resource officer found a loaded handgun in his vehicle at Simmons Career Center, according to the Plant City Police Department.
“My heart kind of dropped,” Kristine Smith said as she picked up her children from school. “It is scary because things like that can happen at any given moment.”
Deputies said it all started with a tip from a concerned parent in Plant City who said a student potentially had a weapon.
That’s when police said a school resource officer at Simmons Career Center got in touch with a 16-year-old student who they say admitted to having a gun in his vehicle.
“It was a 9mm Taurus handgun, had a magazine fully loaded and we had also recovered a number of rounds” Capt. Alfred Van Duyne with the Plant City Police Department said.
Twenty-six rounds to be specific.
The school district notified parents with the following message:
“Parents, this is Principal Chazares from Simmons Career Center calling with an important message. We were contacted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office that a vehicle in our parking lot may have a weapon in it. We were notified the tip stemmed from an incident that occurred off campus yesterday. We were able to identify the truck in our parking lot and the student who owns the truck. We searched it and did find a gun in the truck. The student never threatened anyone with it. And again, it was found in a truck in the parking lot, not in our school. No weapons are allowed on school property and the student was arrested. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Thank you.”