A 14 year-old boy was taken into custody on Thursday after a gun, ammunition and two knives were found in his backpack, police said.
The backpack was in a locker at Winter Haven Christian School in Winter Haven, Florida, the Winter Haven police said in a news release. A semi-automatic pistol with 11 rounds of ammunition, a butterfly-style knife and folding pocket knife were found inside, police said.
No one was injured and “there was never any threat given by the student to harm anyone,” police said.
The teen allegedly told investigators he had been listening to rap music “and wanted to bring the gun to feel ‘powerful’ and ‘cool,'” police said.
The teen said the gun was his father’s and that he took it from his home the night before, police said.
The boy was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Polk County Detention for Juvenile Justice for one count of possession of a firearm on school grounds and two counts of possession of a weapon on school grounds.
“This should hopefully serve as a warning to any student who thinks it’s cool to carry a weapon, especially on school grounds,” Winter Haven Police Chief Charlie Bird said in a statement. “There is absolutely no room for ‘cool’ when it involves any sort of weapon in a school with the recent events our Country has endured.”
