Four Plant City High School students were arrested Friday after a fight on campus ended with deputies finding two guns stashed in backpacks, one of them loaded. According to officials, school staff and a school resource deputy recovered the bags, and the students were quickly detained while deputies locked down the scene and started sorting out what happened.
In a post on X, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies discovered the firearms during their investigation and that two of the teens tried to distance themselves from the weapons by handing their backpacks to other students who then attempted to hide them. The transcript attached to the post identified three of the juveniles as Pedro Perez-Jimenez, 14, Pedro Pascual-Perez, 14, and Francisco Ramos-Pedro, 15. All four teens face charges tied to having a firearm on school property, with some also accused of tampering with physical evidence and disrupting a school campus or function. The sheriff's post noted that a school resource deputy, working with administrators, recovered both backpacks on school grounds.
School response and context
Plant City High was already on edge this spring after deputies swarmed the campus in March during a separate incident that triggered a precautionary lockdown, a reminder of ongoing safety worries across the district, as noted in a lockdown drama report on Hoodline. The school’s official page with Hillsborough County Public Schools lists Plant City High at 1 Raider Place and highlights district partnerships with local law enforcement agencies.
Legal implications
Under Florida law, bringing a gun onto school grounds is more than a bad decision, it is a crime. Section 790.115 of the Florida Statutes generally prohibits weapons on school property and can carry felony penalties. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the juveniles are facing firearm possession charges under that law, and the case is still being actively investigated.
Detectives say the investigation remains open, and any additional charges or developments will be released through law enforcement updates. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
