Vero Beach - Wednesday November 30, 2022: A 17-year-old Vero Beach High School student was arrested Wednesday afternoon after authorities found a hand gun in the student's backpack.
The student is a juvenile. Neither his name or gender have been released.
Earlier in the day a fellow student reported that the 17-year-old had made threats to harm another classmate at the school.
Vero Beach School Resource Deputies and other school officials immediately called the suspect student in for questioning and during the course of that questioning the student's backpack was searched and a loaded handgun was found inside it.
The student was taken into custody by Indian River County Sheriff Deputies and he has been charged with:
- Possession of Weapon on School Property
- Carrying a Concealed Firearm
- Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon
- Criminal Mischief
A release on the School District of Indian River County's (SDIRC) Facebook page states that the student "will not return" to Vero Beach High School.
The SDIRC release goes on to say - "We have zero tolerance for threats made against any of our students, staff members, or schools, and those in violation of making any and all threats will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted accordingly."
