The Sheriff's Office said 45 deputies and school security officers spent more than two hours searching a school Thursday after a 16-year-old fabricated a story about a gun on campus.
- Incident occurred Thursday at Durant High School
- Student, 16, faces several charges
- About 45 deputies and security officers responded to scene
The student, whose name wasn't released, faces charges of disruption of a school function, false statement and obstruction. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the incident started at about 10 a.m. at Durant High School when the student was picked up early by a parent.
The student told his mother "he observed an unknown student in the hallway during class change with a firearm."
The mother called school administrators with the tip, the student was placed on lockout, and the student was returned to school for questioning.
Responding deputies and security officers searched the school and used walk-through metal detectors to verify there was no weapon on campus.
Authorities said the incident was so "far reaching" that Turkey Creek Middle School also received reports of a firearm on campus. Deputies responded there as well.
In a prepared statement, Hillsborough County Public Schools said:
"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. 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."