Authorities confirmed that there was no bomb or explosive device found.
A man was arrested after he claimed he had a bomb in his backpack while walking near a school in Polk County, according to arrest records.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Taylor Roca, 20, is facing multiple charges, including false report of a bomb, explosion, or weapon of mass destruction, disrupting a school function, resisting an officer without violence, and trespass on school grounds.
The affidavit says the principal of the school saw Roca walking toward the Achievement Academy in Lakeland at around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday as students were being let out.
Investigators say the principal and a deputy who was working an “off-duty detail” at the school told Roca that he wasn’t allowed to walk on the property. That’s when Roca reportedly told them he had a bomb in his backpack.
The deputy immediately took the backpack off Roca before detaining him. The affidavit says Roca attempted to walk away while he was in handcuffs, and he began to “brace and tense” as law enforcement grabbed him.
Deputies were able to eventually get him into the patrol vehicle as “he was still actively resisting,” according to arrest records.
Tampa Bomb Squad also responded to the scene and determined that there was no bomb or explosive device, officials say.