14-year-old Winter Haven student arrested after gun, ammunition and two knives found in backpack

Winter Haven Police said they responded to the school located on Buckeye Loop Rd, at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, after school administrators learned that the teen had a backpack with a gun locked inside his locker.

When officers arrived, they went to the principal's office and inside the backpack found a Kimel AP-9 semi-automatic pistol with 11 rounds of ammunition, one butterfly style knife and one SOG brand folding pocket knife.

When asked why he had the items in his backpack, the teen told officers he had recently been listening to rap music and wanted to bring the gun to feel "powerful" and "cool." According to officers, the gun belongs to the teen's father and he had taken it from his home the night before.

The teen was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Polk County Detention for Juvenile Justice on charges of one count of possession of a firearm on school Grounds (F3) and two counts of possession of a weapon on school grounds (F3).

"This should hopefully serve as a warning to any student who thinks it's cool to carry a weapon, especially on school grounds," said Chief Charlie Bird. "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."

No students nor staff members were injured and there was never any threat given by the student to harm anyone, according to officers.