Bomb Diagram Led To 2 Newsome Student Arrests: Sheriff

LITHIA, FL — Two Newsome High students face felony charges after a diagram depicting a bomb in the school's courtyard was discovered on a table inside the FishHawk McDonald’s.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the case against the two 16-year-olds began to form around 3:30 p.m. March 6. Deputies say the boys, one from Lithia and one from Valrico, sat inside the 16701 FishHawk Blvd. restaurant at that time and created a drawing of Newsome’s courtyard area.

“The drawing depicted a picture of a bomb within the courtyard,” an email from the sheriff’s office said.

After completing the drawing, the boys are accused of walking away from the table. They left the drawing and a “manual for an unknown type firearm” behind, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies say a person discovered the drawing and manual on the table just before 5 p.m. Monday and called authorities. The witness, deputies say, was concerned that someone had placed or was going to place a bomb at the school.

After receiving the call, deputies pulled surveillance from the restaurant’s dining room. That video “showed both defendants’ actions inside the restaurant,” the email said.

The teens were brought into custody on Wednesday, March 8.

“Both admitted to drawing the diagram and leaving it on the table,” the email said. ‘They indicated that they wanted to get a reaction out of whomever found it.”

They did get a reaction from the sheriff’s office.

Both boys, who are not being identified by Patch due to their ages, now face felony charges of providing a false report about a bomb on public property.

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