Florida Teenager Charged After Gun He Brought Onto School Bus Is Used in Unintentional Shooting

File photo shows a crime scene tape cordon at a street in Hollywood, Fla., on May 29, 2023. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images

A teenager has been charged in Florida for bringing a handgun onto a Hernando County school bus last month. The same gun accidentally injured a student days later, officials said.

Speaking at a Feb. 8 press conference, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said the 16-year-old student was initially stopped by law enforcement officers on Jan. 12 as police were investigating reports of a stolen vehicle.

An officer approached the teenager, who then allegedly stepped out of the vehicle, pushed the officer out of the way, ran back to the stolen vehicle, and fled the scene, according to Sheriff Nienhuis.

He eventually crashed the vehicle, which was later found at Mariner’s Cay Apartments, the sheriff said.

Days later, on Jan. 16, students at Springstead High School reported to a school resource officer that the teenager had brought a firearm onto the school bus.

Deputies examined surveillance footage from the bus and the school. They discovered that the teenager had a handgun on the vehicle and appeared to have shown it to other students, according to police.

While law enforcement officials worked to determine if the gun was real and functional, the teenager was brought in for questioning but was “unwilling” to give officers information regarding the weapon, police said. Officers did, however, have enough information to determine the teenager had stolen the vehicle earlier in January, the sheriff said.

Police continued their investigation into the gun, but shortly thereafter, on Jan. 31, deputies became aware of a 17-year-old student at the school who had been wounded in an unintentional shooting. The 17-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to Sheriff Nienhuis.

‘No Tolerance’

An analysis of the gun and witness statements confirmed that the weapon used in the unintentional shooting on Jan. 16 was the same one the teenager brought onto the bus, according to police.

Sheriff Nienhuis said the gun had changed hands multiple times since the teenager originally brought it onto the school bus. Police believe several students possessed the gun before a different student accidentally fired it, injuring a 17-year-old. That student was not charged over the accidental shooting.

However, police arrested the 16-year-old who initially brought the gun onto the bus and charged him with possessing or discharging weapons or firearms in a school-sponsored event or on school property.

The teenager was transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Ocala, where he remains in custody. He was also expelled from the school.

The sheriff said police are still working to determine where the gun originally came from and whether or not it was stolen.

Hernando County Schools superintendent John Stratton, who was also in attendance at the Feb. 8 press conference, stressed that the schools have a “no tolerance” policy for weapons on campus.

“If you bring weapons onto our properties, you will be expelled and you will face possible arrest in that process,” Mr. Stratton said. The school superintendent also encouraged parents to have conversations with their children about the seriousness of firearms.

“But don’t stop there, have a talk with them about threats or acts of harm towards anybody else. That will not be tolerated,” Mr. Stratton said.