A 16-year-old Spoto High School student is facing four charges after Hillsborough County deputies say they found a stolen firearm and a loaded magazine stashed in his backpack on Monday morning, following an anonymous tip submitted through Tip411 at 8:20 a.m.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
, the school resource deputy assigned to Spoto High received the tip at 8:20 a.m. Monday. A search of the backpack belonging to student Major Perkins, 16, turned up a firearm tucked inside a zipper pocket, along with a loaded magazine holding eight rounds of ammunition kept separately in the same pocket, the sheriff's office said.
A records check by deputies found the firearm had been reported stolen out of Pasco County in March 2025, HCSO said. Perkins was arrested and now faces four charges: possession of a weapon on school property, grand theft firearm, minor in possession of a firearm, and carrying a concealed firearm.
Sheriff Credits Tip for Averting Harm
Sheriff Chad Chronister said weapons have no place on school campuses, and credited the outcome to both the community and his deputy's response. He said an anonymous tipster and the school resource deputy's swift response intercepted the firearm before anyone was hurt.
On October 14, 2025, administrators and a school resource deputy at Spoto High School made contact with then-16-year-old Charles Lanorris Wallace Jr. after a tip that he had a gun on campus; a backpack search in that case turned up a pistol with a loaded magazine holding seven 9mm rounds, though the firearm did not have a round chambered.
Pattern of Campus Gun Finds in the County
Hillsborough schools have seen other recent firearm incidents beyond Spoto. In April, HCSO said an 18-year-old Plant City High School student, Isai Luciano Jijon Blas, was arrested after a loaded handgun turned up in his backpack during a search by a deputy and school administration; he was charged with possession of a weapon on school property. A three-year-old case covered by WTSP also described a 10th grader arrested in 2023 after being found with a handgun in a Spoto High School bathroom, though details of that earlier incident remain limited.
What Florida Law Says About Guns on Campus
Under Florida Statute 790.115, possessing a firearm on school property or at a school-sponsored event is generally prohibited, with specified exceptions, according to the Florida Legislature. The statute's definition of a school includes secondary schools, whether public or nonpublic, and a willful and knowing violation of the school-property prohibition is generally classified as a third-degree felony, subject to a separate statutory exception.
It is not yet known whether Perkins has entered a plea or retained an attorney, and the sheriff's office statement did not include comment from the student's family. HCSO has not released details about any disciplinary response from the school district.
