West Charlotte High moves to remote class day after gun fired on campus; juvenile charged
A fight between two students over a bookbag escalated into a gun being fired outside of West Charlotte High School on Monday afternoon, police said.
Late Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a juvenile had been charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds. The juvenile was determined to be the sole suspect involved, police said.
Tuesday will be an asynchronous learning day, according to the high school’s Twitter account. This means classes will be held remotely.
At least one round was fired Monday, police Chief Johnny Jennings said at a news conference near the school. Officers were called after gunfire was heard around 2:16 p.m.
Medic treated one person for a minor injury that was not the result of gunfire, police said,
The shooting is the latest of serious incidents involving students and weapons or violence in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools so far this school year. Recently, Superintendent Earnest Winston announced CMS would provide all high school students a clear backpack and enforce use of them daily — one step the school system hopes will reduce the presence of guns and weapons on campus.
As the Observer reported earlier this month, Winston met with other high-ranking city and county officials, including Jennings, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and a representative for new U.S. Attorney Dena King. Winston and others have said repeatedly that guns in the hands of children and teens is not a problem just for CMS to solve and that solutions will take a community-wide effort.
Winston has also said middle and high schools will adopt a new way for students to anonymously report problems and incidents. After Monday’s gunfire, Jennings said Crime Stoppers will increase the reward for reporting a firearm on campus that leads to an arrest or weapon seizure from $250 to $500.
Students can leave anonymous information with a school resource officer or school official. Information can also be provided by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
CMS school safety
Winston last Thursday issued “an urgent message” to CMS families after three more firearms were found on high school campuses on the same day — one school being West Charlotte High. That brings the total over the last three months to 23 guns found on CMS campuses, officials confirmed Monday.
Winston urged parents to “have the tough conversations about guns, other weapons and fights” and to check their children’s backpacks. He reiterated that message Monday.
“What happened today is not a reflection of the hard work that takes place on West Charlotte’s campus,” he told reporters. “Today’s incident is yet another example of issues that originate in our community that make their way onto our school campuses, and it is unacceptable.”
Through Dec. 2, at least 195 weapons (not all firearms) have been found on CMS campuses this academic year.
Yet Winston was firm Monday that he believes schools are safe, saying: “Yes, CMS students are safe in our schools. And I will say that unequivocally and I will tell you, as a parent of two CMS students, if I did not feel safe, if I did not feel our schools were safe, then I might make a different choice.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 3:32 PM.
