10-year-old student brings loaded gun to Lancaster, SC elementary school, officials say
A 10-year-old student at a Lancaster County elementary school was found with a loaded handgun Tuesday, school and police officials said.
No one was hurt, according to Lancaster County deputies and school officials.
The male student, who has not been named, was removed from Erwin Elementary School after the pistol was found in the child’s clothing, said Bryan Vaughn, safety and transportation director for the Lancaster County School District.
One of the boy’s parents went to the school Tuesday and told officials the child may have a gun, Vaughn said. The school resource officer, who is a uniformed deputy of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, located the gun in the student’s possession, Vaughn said. The gun was confiscated by police, and the student was later removed from the school, Vaughn said.
Vaughn said officials believe the student didn’t show the gun to anyone at school.
“The gun was not brandished or shown at school to our knowledge,” Vaughn said Tuesday afternoon.
Erwin Elementary School is one of two Lancaster County schools that have a full-time school resource officer, Vaughn said. The school is southeast of downtown Lancaster. The school district has a dozen elementary schools, according to its website.
The district has a policy of expulsion for a calendar year for anyone with a gun on a campus, Vaughn said. The child will have a due process hearing within 10 days, Vaughn said.
The 2020-21 school year ends June 17, according to the district calendar.
Police investigation ongoing
Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said a police investigation remains ongoing to determine how the child came to possess the loaded gun at school.
“We can say that no one was hurt and we are investigating the source of the loaded pistol,” Barfield said Tuesday evening. “We are taking this very seriously.”
It is illegal to have a gun on school property, South Carolina law states. It is also illegal for anyone under age 18 to possess a handgun under state law.
Cases involving juveniles under age 17 are generally handled by South Carolina Family Court if charges are filed, state law shows.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 7:18 PM.
