PLANT CITY, Fla. – A 16-year-old student at Plant City High School is in custody following an armed robbery on campus Friday morning. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested Neftali Bautista-Lopez after school officials and law enforcement were alerted to a weapon on the property.
The incident began around 8:25 a.m. when school administrators and a resource deputy received reports of a student carrying a firearm. According to investigators, two victims alleged that Bautista-Lopez approached them and demanded cash while making threats of physical harm.
During the encounter, he reportedly opened his backpack to display a handgun, leading one of the victims to surrender money.
Deputies later tracked Bautista-Lopez to his home in Plant City. During questioning, the teenager claimed he had left the weapon at a friend’s house.
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When deputies searched that second location, they recovered the stolen cash and the firearm inside a vehicle. Investigators confirmed the handgun was unloaded and that no ammunition was found at the scene.
Bautista-Lopez faces a list of charges, including possession of a firearm on school property, carrying a concealed weapon, robbery with a firearm, tampering with evidence, and disrupting a school function.
“Bringing a firearm onto a school campus and threatening students is a serious crime that will never be tolerated,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement following the arrest. “Thanks to the quick response from the victims, the school, and our deputies, this situation was addressed before anyone was harmed.”
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