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ROCK HILL Several students told deputies an 11-year-old classmate brought a folding knife to a Rock Hill middle school on Wednesday to cut another student.
An administrator at Castle Heights Middle School told police several students informed her that a girl brought a knife to school, according to a York County Sheriff’s report. The girl was escorted to an office, where she initially denied having the knife.
When school officials told her she would be searched, she admitted to having the knife, equipped with a 3-inch blade, inside her book bag, the report states. Officials confiscated the knife.
Students gave statements, claiming the girl showed them the knife and said she was “going to use it” on another student, the report states. No direct threats were made to the would-be victim.
The girl was petitioned to family court, charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds, and released to her father. School officials also took disciplinary action against the girl.
Weapons, whether real or a toy, are not allowed on school grounds at all, said Rock Hill Schools spokeswoman Elaine Baker.
“If it looks like a weapon, it is a weapon in our eyes,” she said.
School officials do not release details on disciplinary actions taken against students because of student privacy laws, Baker said. When students do bring weapons to school, they are generally recommended for expulsion before administrators hold a due process hearing. During the hearing, administrators make a decision about the student.
