Guns in Charlotte schools match last year’s total — half came in March. Where are they?
When a gun was found on a 15-year-old Olympic High School girl late last month, it was the third time in March that officials took a firearm from a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools student.
Earlier in March, two guns were found at Rocky River High School in Mint Hill — one on March 1 and the other 10 days later.
In February, Huntersville Police Department officers found a gun in a backpack following a fight at North Mecklenburg High School.
The spate of seized guns reverses a recent drop in gun possession cases at CMS schools, according to data from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
Possession of guns by CMS students peaked during the 2021-22 school year, when school districts across the nation saw a post-pandemic spike in drug and weapons offenses on campuses.
CMS officials confiscated a record 29 guns that year, eight alone at West Charlotte High School, state records show. The total dropped to six firearms in the 2022-23 school year. That’s when the district installed body scanners at all its middle and high schools.
Charlotte Observer reporting that year showed mixed results for the scanners early in their use. Scanners caught a loaded gun on just their second day of use at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology but also principals complained that the scanners were ringing for three-ring binders and other ordinary school items.
So far this year, district officials have recovered six guns, half of them last month.
In an email to The Charlotte Observer, CMS Chief Operating Officer Brian Schultz said the six guns seized this year was a “significant reduction” compared to the number of guns taken in the 2021-22 school year. He also said that CMS was one of a handful of school districts that recorded a significant decreases in guns at schools.
CMS recorded a 79% reduction in the number of guns seized between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, state data show.
On average N.C. public schools saw a 19% increase in firearm possession.
The drop in guns found in recent years, was mirrored by a drop in other offenses, as well, according to Department of Public Instruction records.
The number of assaults on school personnel, possession of alcohol, possession of drugs, sexual assaults and armed robberies on school properties decreased in 2022-2023 compared to the previous year.
The number of non-firearm or explosive-related weapons recovered at CMS schools decreased by more than 30% to about 280 from 2021-22 to 2022-23, records show. The trend seems to be continuing this year, with about 100 recovered so far.
CMS schools reported seven assaults with a weapon in each of the past two year. One assault with a weapon was reported so far in 2023-24.
This story was originally published April 1, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
