A tip that a student might be carrying a weapon set off a chain of events at Robinson High School on Tuesday that ended with a 15-year-old in handcuffs and a loaded gun in police custody. Tampa police say officers took the teen, identified as Thor Mangas, into custody at 12:06 p.m. after a School Resource Officer conducted an administrative search based on the on-campus tip.
According to the Tampa Free Press, the Tampa Police Department received the tip that Mangas might have a weapon on school grounds, and the SRO's search turned up a handgun on the freshman. Officers arrested Mangas without incident, according to the department, and investigators say he did not make any threats against the school, staff members, or other students. The Tampa Police Department confirmed the same timeline, noting the search followed the tip received earlier that day.
Zero Tolerance, Two Sets of Charges
Acting Chief of Police Brett Owen addressed the arrest directly, saying there is zero tolerance for bringing a weapon to school and that school safety is always the highest priority, per the same account from the Tampa Free Press. Mangas now faces charges of possession of a firearm on school property along with a separate charge of minor in possession of a firearm, according to police.
Those two charges carry very different weight under Florida law. Under Florida Statute 790.115, carrying or possessing a firearm on public school grounds is classified as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Online Sunshine. Separately, under Florida Statute 790.22(3), a first-offense charge against a minor for illegal firearm possession is a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying mandatory penalties of 100 hours of community service and up to three days in a secure juvenile detention facility, according to The Rivas Law Firm.
Expulsion Looms Regardless of Court Outcome
The criminal case is only part of what Mangas now faces. Under Florida Statute 1006.13(3)(a) and Hillsborough County Public Schools policy, bringing a firearm to school is a zero-tolerance offense requiring mandatory referral to criminal prosecution and a recommended expulsion of at least one full calendar year, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That means the district's disciplinary process moves forward independently of whatever happens in juvenile court.
It remains unclear exactly how the initial tip reached campus officials, but Florida schools statewide lean on FortifyFL, a suspicious activity reporting app created under the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, to relay anonymous tips directly to police and administrators, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The system is designed to let school resource officers intervene before a threat escalates, without waiting for a formal complaint to work its way through normal channels.
A Campus With a Watchful History
Robinson High School, established in 1959 in South Tampa, enrolled roughly 1,438 students during the 2024–2025 school year and is one of five Hillsborough County high schools offering the International Baccalaureate diploma program, according to Wikipedia. Tuesday's arrest is not the campus's first brush with weapons concerns. In October 2019, a 15-year-old Robinson student was arrested after posting Instagram messages threatening to shoot up the school alongside a photo of a pellet gun, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
The surrounding South Tampa neighborhood has seen its own share of public safety incidents. In October 2022, a 17-year-old girl was shot near the campus outside the Arbor Flats Apartments on South Manhattan Avenue during a dispute involving a counterfeit bill, according to Patch. Separately, city officials have been ramping up traffic safety measures near the school; Tampa City Council agenda materials from June 2026 showed automated school zone speed cameras recorded more than 6,000 violations over a two-day study period at selected Tampa school zones, including around Robinson, as noted by FOX 29 Philadelphia.
Investigators have not said how Mangas obtained the gun, and it remains an open question whether any additional charges could apply to an adult connected to the firearm under Florida's safe-storage laws. Mangas's status pending juvenile court proceedings and a district expulsion hearing has not yet been resolved.
