Gun found at a school in Rock Hill, SC: Student charged after fleeing, police say
A gun was found Monday afternoon on the campus of South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, police said.
In a written news statement, the Rock Hill Police Department said a 16-year-old student male student had a stolen handgun in a backpack and has been charged as a juvenile with weapon offenses and resisting police.
The student’s mother also has been charged with obstruction, police said in the statement.
“No shots were fired,” Rock Hill police Lt. Michael Chavis told The Herald.
The student fled from police who were at the school during the incident, and was later taken in custody in a nearby wooded area, according to the statement.
Officers, including a Rock Hill K-9 team, and York County Sheriff’s deputies, were at the scene before the juvenile was taken in custody, the statement said.
A spokesperson for the Rock Hill school district said in an email to The Herald that South Pointe’s principal, Valarie Williams, sent a message to parents Monday afternoon.
The message stated:
“Hello South Pointe Families, I would like to update you on a situation that happened today. Law enforcement presence was on and near our campus as Rock Hill Police was pursuing an individual. All students are safe and we were able to continue school as usual.”
The incident
In the written statement, Rock Hill police said the school resource officer was monitoring student activity during lunch around 12:15 p.m. The officer notified administration that it was believed the student may have contraband on campus, the statement said.
School administrators attempted to conduct a search of the backpack, police said in the statement. However, the student refused to let school officials search the backpack, police said.
In a conference room with police and administrators, the student asked to call his mother and the mother came to the school, Rock Hill police said in the statement.
The mother allegedly took the the backpack, looked inside, and attempted to leave the school with the backpack and her son, police said in the statement. The officer told the mother police had the right to search the backpack, the statement said.
When the police officer looked in the backpack, the student allegedly shoved another officer and fled, police said.
Police found a 9 millimeter handgun in the backpack, the police department said in the statement. The gun had been reported stolen in 2018, police said.
Police did not say if the gun was loaded.
The charges
The 16-year-old student has been charged with possession of handgun by a person under age 18, possession of a stolen handgun, unlawful possession of a firearm on school property, and resisting arrest, according to the statement from police.
The student was detained and remains in the custody of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, officials said in the statement.
This investigation is ongoing, police said.
Rock Hill schools statement
In Monday’s statement, district spokesperson Lindsay Machak said school officials and police worked together Monday.
“School safety is our No. 1 priority at Rock Hill Schools,” the statement said. “We work very closely with our law enforcement partners to promote safety and security in all of our buildings and today our relationship proved to be a crucial connection as we navigated an incident at South Pointe High School.
Rock Hill Schools has dedicated safety staff at every school who are trained to spot suspicious activity and address it. We are thankful our school administrators and law enforcement partners were able to work together in quickly and proactively addressing this incident. At no time was the student, or parent, threatening anyone with a weapon. Additionally, as soon as the gun was found, the police officer took possession of the weapon.”
Machak also sent The Herald a second statement released Monday evening by the South Pointe principal to South Pointe parents.
That statement said:
“I’m reaching out to make you aware of an incident we had today that you may have heard about. The incident was resolved quickly thanks to the fast action of our law enforcement partners and our administrators. During lunch time, our school resource officer observed a student suspiciously handling a small object while reaching into the backpack of another student. Our school administrators immediately began investigating the claim. Administrators, with the help of the school resource officer, attempted to search the backpack of the student in question and during the search, the student fled the school. Another officer followed the fleeing student while the school resource officer continued to search the backpack in question. The school resource officer was able to open the backpack and found a gun. Rock Hill Police Department assumed the investigation from there. At no time was this student threatening other students or anyone else. The safety of your children is our top priority and I want to assure you our team jumped into action to ensure your child was safe. The student was apprehended by law enforcement in the woods near the school a short time later. The student’s parent also came to the school as part of this incident and was taken into police custody after allegedly trying to take the backpack from the school. We are grateful for the swift action of our school resource officer and of our administrators in this situation.”
South Pointe is one of three high schools in the district. The Rock Hill Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Office have officers assigned to schools as school resource officers.
