A 16-year-old Durant High School student was arrested Thursday after it was found they falsely reported seeing another student with a gun, causing a three-hour lockout at the school.
According to Larry McKinnon, a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, the student, a Durant junior, was picked up from school around 10 a.m. When he got home, he told his mother he had seen an unknown student with a gun while in the hallway during a class change. The mother called school administration who notified school resource officers.
McKinnon said 23 deputies and 22 school resource officers walked through the school with metal detectors to ensure no weapon was on the campus. The responding deputies had to be called from other schools and patrol districts. The student who reported seeing a gun was called back to school and interviewed for an hour, during which he admitted he lied about seeing the gun. He was arrested and charged with disruption of a school function, making a false statement, and obstruction, then booked into the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center.
"We are glad this ended with no weapon on campus but we share the frustration of parents, staff and students with the fact that this was falsified information which completely disrupted the school day and took away classroom time,” Tanya Arja, Hillsborough County Public Schools spokesperson, said. “This also took valuable resources from the Sheriff's Office and our school security personnel. We thank the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and district school security officers for always working to ensure the safety of our students and staff."
According to HCSO reports, the incident hit social media and grew, with miscommunication leading to false reports as far as Turkey Creek Middle School. Deputies were called there as well and found the reports were related to the incident at Durant.
“False reports of gun sightings are out of control,” McKinnon said. “We hope this sends a message that this has got to stop.”
Just one day earlier, a student at Plant City High School wrote “Im (sic) shooting the school up during second chance. I have my gun with me in class,” on a bathroom wall. The message led to a 50-minute ‘modified lockdown’ at the school. Deputies at PCHS found and searched the student, finding no weapon and placing him under arrest. Eight days prior, a PCHS student was found with a loaded .40 caliber handgun in his bag and arrested.
After the incident at PCHS Wednesday, Principal Susan Sullivan said all threats are taken more seriously than in years prior, especially in light of a Tuesday shooting in Kentucky that left two dead and 18 wounded.
“Probably 10 or 15 years ago we might not have taken this seriously, but in today’s day and time we take it very seriously,” she said. “There was a shooting yesterday in Kentucky. We would rather err on the side of caution and concern and safety.”