Teen found with stolen handgun near Columbia elementary school campus, police say

A 15-year-old was charged after officers found outside a Columbia elementary school with a stolen gun, according to reports.

Police were called just before 8 p.m. Saturday to E.E. Taylor Elementary School on McRae Street after someone reported seeing a man with a gun, according to a Columbia Police Department incident report.

Officers found a suspect matching the description and searched him. The suspect turned out to be a 15-year-old boy, according to the report. Police found a handgun in the front waist band of his pants.

The Ruger 9mm had been stolen out of Alabama, according to the report. Because the school is in the jurisdiction of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were notified and the case was turned over to them.

It was not clear why the teen was on school property, but Richland County deputies wrote in their report that the call came in about a man who was walking down the street with a gun, and that officers found the teen outside the school.

The teen, who is not being identified because of his age, was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a pistol by a person under 21, according to the report. The teen admitted to having the gun in his waist band, and was transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.