4 students charged in a day with possessing weapons at Richland schools, deputies say
One student wielded an axe, two others brought air-powered guns and another brought a knife to four different Richland County schools in a single day, according to police.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department arrested and charged the four students March 3, a department spokesperson said in a statement. All of the students’ names are being withheld by the department because they are juveniles.
Deputies charged a 16-year-old Lower Richland High School student with weapon possession on school grounds after he got an axe and swung it in class, according to deputies.
The student snatched keys from a teacher’s hand, left the class and unlocked a tool box that had firefighting tools, deputies said. The student returned to the classroom with the axe. He threatened his classmates while wielding the axe and “swung it around aggressively,” striking a wall, according to police. When the teen’s teacher called for help over a radio, the teen dropped the axe.
Police arrested and charged the teen and released him to the custody of his mother.
At Dent Middle School, police charged a 12-year-old student with bringing a weapon to school after he was found possessing a pellet pistol, the department said.
Another student saw the 12-year-old with the pellet gun in his jacket and reported it to administrators. After being arrested by police, the student said he forgot he put the gun in his pocket the night before, according to deputies. The student said he didn’t tell any teachers or administrators about the pellet gun because he panicked when he realized he still had the weapon at school.
A 13-year-old Summit Parkway Middle School student was also charged with possessing a BB gun at school, deputies said.
The student’s mother notified school administrators that her son had some items that belonged to her, including the BB gun, according to deputies. She told administrators her son may have a weapon that she didn’t give him permission to take from her house. Administrators searched the student, his backpack and his locker and found the BB gun, metal BBs, a CO2 cartridge and a screwdriver, deputies said.
After being charged, the student was released to the custody of his father.
Deputies charged a 16-year-old Westwood High School student with possessing a weapon at school after a knife was found in his backpack, according to the sheriff’s department.
Administrators were told the student had a knife, and when he was searched they found the weapon in a black case, deputies said. Administrators also found a box cutter in his backpack. Asked why he had the blades, the teen said he forgot they were in his backpack from the previous night, according to deputies.
Possessing a weapon on school property is a felony. The students face up to five years in imprisonment if convicted.