TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 14-year-old middle school girl caused a stir when she handed out more than $10,000 that she is accused of stealing from her grandmother to fellow classmates, officials said.
Marion County deputies responded to Lake Weir Middle School in Summerfield Thursday after reports that a student was handing out hundreds of dollars to classmates, an arrest report said.
When school officials searched the girl’s backpack, they found about $2,500 inside. The girl said she was given the cash by an unknown former student who wanted the money disseminated. It was later determined the girl had broken into her grandmother’s home safe and stolen approximately $13,500 of the woman’s life savings, investigators said.
Authorities did not immediately release why the girl allegedly took the money or why she gave it away to her classmates.
In a message to parents, school officials said, “We would like to recover this money for the grandparents. If you speak with your children and if they have received money from the student, please turn it in to our school resource officers.”
By Friday, officials had recovered about $700 of the money that had been handed out. That money and the $2,500 recovered from the girl’s backpack were returned to the grandmother.
Officials said students will not face any consequences for turning in the money.
