Teen charged with bringing loaded gun to high school in Columbia, deputies say
A teenage student was charged with bringing a loaded gun to his high school in Columbia Tuesday, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
The 17-year-old W.J. Keenan High student was charged with possession of a firearm on school property, possession of a firearm under 18, possession of a stolen firearm, and unlawful carry, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Keenan High is off Wilson Boulevard, in the area between Interstate 20 and Interstate 77.
School administrators discovered the student had a gun after he went through a metal detector at the Richland 1 high school, according to the release. They approached him and found the loaded weapon inside his book bag, and both the weapon and teenager were placed in the custody of school resource officers, the sheriff’s department said.
The gun was previously reported stolen from Kingstree, according to the release. Information about how the student got possession of the weapon was not available.
There’s no evidence that any students or staff were threatened or presented with the gun, the sheriff’s department said. There was no word if the high school was placed on a lockdown during the incident.
The student was booked into the juvenile wing of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said.
The teen’s name was not made public because of his age.
Information about a specific punishment from the school and Richland 1 was not available. The school district previously said students can face expulsion if they are found in possession of a weapon at school.
This is the second time in the past week that a Keenan High student has been arrested.
Last Thursday a 14-year-old student was locked up for making a prank call about a shooting at Keenan High. The threat was investigated and determined to be a false call, the sheriff’s department said.
The consequences are real as the student was arrested and charged with aggravated breach of peace and unlawful communication, according to the sheriff’s department.
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