INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 17-year-old student was arrested over the weekend after deputies received an anonymous tip that he brought a handgun to the campus of Vero Beach High School.
A witness told deputies they heard the student say, “$100 bucks and I’ll shoot a cap,” reports show. The teenager then pulled a small, .380 caliber black semi-automatic pistol from his boot and “racked the slide,” authorities said.
“See something, say something works. It is not just a slogan. We want to assure the parents, teachers, and students of Indian River County that if you come forward with a tip, we will thoroughly investigate the allegations,” Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar said in a statement. “In this case, we recovered a gun that was brandished in the parking lot of Vero Beach High School.”
Deputies on Sunday arrested the teen on charges of possession of a weapon on school grounds, possession of a weapon by a minor and carrying a concealed firearm, said sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers. The 17-year-old was taken to the Department of Youth Services.
Deputies on Friday received a tip that the teenager brought the weapon on campus, located at 1707 16th Street. The incident happened about 2 p.m. Friday on the southwest side of the junior parking lot, reports show.
Sheriff’s detectives and school resource officers immediately investigated the complaint.
Deputies eventually located the 17-year-old on Sunday and recovered a handgun, Flowers said. Witnesses identified the firearm as the same weapon the teen had on the school campus.