3rd gun in three days found at school in Rock Hill, York County deputies say
A gun was found Wednesday in a vehicle at Rock Hill High School in York County, S.C., officials said. That marks the third consecutive day that a gun was found in the Rock Hill school district,
The weapon was found before 2 p.m. in a vehicle that deputies believe belongs to a student, Cpl. Johnathan Gilbert of the York County Sheriff’s Office told The Herald in a phone interview.
No one was hurt and no shots were fired, Gilbert said.
When the school resource officer -- who is a sheriff’s deputy -- and school administrators attempted to speak to the student, the student fled the campus, Gilbert said.
Sheriff’s office patrol units, detectives, and K-9 were called to the area, Gilbert said.
As of 4 p.m. the student had not been located, Gilbert said.
Deputies now have the gun and have not said if it was loaded.
The sheriff’s office issued a social media statement about the incident around 4:20 p.m.
Third gun in three days at district school
The finding of a weapon Wednesday came as the Rock Hill school district implemented increased safety measures after guns had been found Monday and Tuesday.
Guns were found Monday at South Pointe High School and Tuesday at Dutchman Creek Middle School. Students were charged as juveniles with weapons offenses in both incidents.
The new measures instituted Wednesday morning after the previous gun seizures included random searches at all middle and high schools, according to a statement emailed to The Herald from the Rock Hill school district.
The statement, which was also sent to district parents, said:
“Today at 9 a.m. we conducted safety screenings at all three of our high schools and each of our middle schools.
Classes were selected at random through a computer program and screenings were conducted in collaboration with the York County Sheriff’s Office, Rock Hill Police Department and our Safety and Security team.
We have done random safety screenings in the past and will continue to do these at all of our schools throughout the rest of this school year.”
Rock Hill schools has about 17,000 students at 24 campuses.
Some of the district’s schools are inside the Rock Hill city limits and are policed by school resource officers with the Rock Hill Police Department. Others, including Rock Hill High, are outside the city limits and have York County sheriff deputies assigned as school resource officers.
The district is the second-largest in York County, S.C., which is south of Charlotte.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 4:48 PM with the headline "3rd gun in three days found at school in Rock Hill, York County deputies say."
