Student charged after gun found at high school in Rock Hill, police say

A student at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill was arrested Wednesday after a loaded gun was found in his book bag, police said.

Police were notified after a student told a school resource officer about the other student having the gun, school officials said.

No one was injured, said Capt. Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department.

Tony Alexander Lopez, 18, is charged as an adult with carrying a gun on school grounds and is in the Rock Hill jail awaiting a bond hearing. The gun, loaded, was a 9 millimeter Glock, Bollinger said.

Bollinger said the gun was not reported stolen and police do not know who it belongs to.

“He isn’t talking, so we have to investigate and run a trace on the gun, which will take some time.” Bollinger said in an email.

The Rock Hill police officer assigned to the school as a resource officer was told about the student having the gun after it was apparently shown to others on campus, Bollinger said.

Police found no threats were made at the school, officers said.

It is unclear what grade Lopez is in at Northwestern.

Northwestern’s principal notified families of the high school students through email shortly after the incident Wednesday, said Mychal Frost, spokesperson for the Rock Hill school district. School administrators and the officer on campus took immediate action, Frost said.

The message to parents praised the student who told police immediately about the weapon on campus.

The message said the school takes any weapon on campus “very seriously.”

Bond for Lopez was set at $3,000, Bollinger said. No other information was available Wednesday afternoon.

This story was originally published September 5, 2018 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Student charged after gun found at high school in Rock Hill, police say."