Crime & Safety

Arrest Made in Wesley Chapel High Acid Bomb Case

Pasco County deputies have taken a 10th-grader into custody.

A 15-year-old boy has been accused of starting a fire at Wesley Chapel High this morning that resulted in the school being placed on modified lockdown.

According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office media release, the school’s resource deputy arrested the teen for making and discharging a destructive device, which is a felony. The teen was also charged with disruption of a school function.

The teen is said to have set off a chemical reaction in a plastic bottle, which was then thrown into a trash can. This started a fire that caught the attention of a school staff member. The school was subsequently placed on lockdown until emergency officials could deem the campus safe.

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There were no injuries reported, but a staff member may have been exposed to some of the device’s vapor, said Kevin Doll, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

“I do not know what type of device it was at this time, but it is my
understanding it is commonly called an ‘acid bomb,’ which can be created with common household items,” Doll wrote in the media release.

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