RUSKIN, Fla. — There was no threat to students at Lennard High School after a man was found shot on the campus Thursday morning, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said they were alerted at 10:30 a.m. of a man who arrived at South Bay Hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a news conference. Detectives determined the man had accidentally shot himself while in the parking lot of Lennard High School.
Deputies immediately contacted the school resource deputy, who notified the school administration, the agency said. Administrators then placed the school on lockdown.
According to the sheriff's office, detectives determined the man was a former student who visited the campus daily to meet with a friend who still attended the school. Sometime Thursday morning, the former student got into the friend's vehicle, discovered the firearm, and shot himself accidentally.
The student was identified, removed from his class and detained, the sheriff's office says. He was placed under arrest for possession of a weapon on school property. Students at Lennard High School were sheltering in place, but the lockdown was lifted thereafter.
"This is not an active shooter situation and there is no immediate threat to student safety," the sheriff's office wrote in a tweet.
The sheriff's office has not released any information on the man's condition since being injured.
"I cannot thank or praise the school administrators enough for their professionalism and sense of urgency in protecting the staff and students here at Lennard High School," Chronister said in a statement. "While this firearm was not brought into the classroom, we take the threat of a firearm on campus very seriously. The safety and security of schools is a top priority."