POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A 17-year-old student at George Jenkins High School was arrested on Wednesday after he was found in possession of a loaded gun.

  • Teen found with loaded gun on campus
  • 9mm handgun found in student's backpack
  • Teen arrested and charged

Officials said school personnel received a tip that the student was in possession of a gun and when the school resource deputy responded to the teen's classroom, he found a 9mm handgun with an extra loaded magazine inside the teen's backpack. 

The teen told officials that he recently found the gun off school grounds. 

"The safety of our students and staff is always paramount. In this incident, our students did exactly as we instruct them to do — they saw something and they said something. Then, our staff immediately followed procedures and contacted law enforcement. Our partners at the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded swiftly and thoroughly, which allowed us to resume normal operations as quickly as possible and with the assurance we were doing so in a safe learning environment. I commend our students, staff members, and law enforcement partners for working together to keep our schools safe," Jacqueline M. Byrd, Superintendent of Schools, said. 

The teen was charged with possession of a firearm on campus, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, possession of a firearm by a juvenile, and disruption of school function. 

"We have an absolute zero tolerance for weapons of any kind at school. I thank the tipster who alerted the school to the gun and commend the school personnel and our deputy for acting quickly and decisively," Sheriff Grady Judd said. 

The sheriff's office said the teen has a previous criminal arrest history for two residential burglaries, grand theft, and petit theft.