Two 16-year-old Lakeland High School students were detained Friday after Polk County deputies discovered a handgun on one of their desks.
A Polk County deputy and a Lakeland High assistant principal spoke with a teenager who allegedly carried a pistol on campus.
The student refuted this, showing the assistant principal a video of another student holding a gun in a school bathroom.
The deputy addressed the second student, who denied having a gun and stated that the footage was from the previous day. He stated that the gun belonged to the first student and that he borrowed it over lunch on September 30 and returned it the same day.
The first student was then taken from his classroom and searched again, but no weapons were discovered on him or in his rucksack.
Deputies and school administrators then utilized a metal detector to check and search each pupil in the classroom, including backpacks.
During the search, a deputy discovered a green and black 9mm handgun without a serial number concealed beneath papers in the seat of an empty desk. According to the affidavit, this was the identical handgun as seen in the video. The deputy also reportedly discovered a canister containing 14 rounds of ammo.
The student, who claimed ownership of the rifle, told deputies that he assembled it from pieces he acquired online. He claimed he brought the gun to school because he was having problems with several students.
He apparently left the revolver in his seat because he anticipated the assistant principal would search him.
According to records, the second student implicated had already been sentenced to probation for petit theft and retail theft. Another examination of his suitcase discovered three apparent THC vapes concealed in hidden compartments.
According to the affidavits, both teenagers were detained on felony counts in connection with the weapon investigation. It is unknown whether they will be charged as adults.
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