5 students detained, 2 guns found after fight at Huntersville high school
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Guns found in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
In the first few months of the 2021-22 school year, CMS has set a concerning new record for guns being brought to campuses.
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Two teenagers are accused of having brought guns to school, which were discovered after a fight at Hopewell High School on Wednesday afternoon, Huntersville police said. Five students were detained by police.
The fight happened around 12:30 p.m., during a class change. Police say during the fight, a black handgun fell to the ground and was picked up by a student. The firearm was recovered later when a bus driver reported seeing it after school. A second gun, in possession of a student, was found when police began questioning students involved, shortly after the fight. It was loaded, according to police.
At least one of the guns appears to have been stolen, Huntersville Police say.
School staff identified the involved students from the in-school camera system, police said. It’s not clear what led to the fight.
The five involved students have been charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and are in-custody at the the Mecklenburg County Juvenile Detention Center, Huntersville police said on Thursday.
Tracey Pickard, the high school’s principal, sent a message to families and students saying the school was placed on lockdown and that many students were dismissed late during the investigation, WBTV, the Observer’s news partner, reported.
‘It’s extremely disruptive’
Earlier this week, Superintendent Earnest Winston told the Observer that the district continues to do random safety screenings and he’s talked to other community and regional leaders about what else should be done when it comes to the guns being found in multiple CMS schools.
Winston said the community needs to be more vigilant and families need to talk to their kids and know what is in their backpack.
“It’s extremely disruptive,” Winston said about guns being found in schools and subsequent lockdowns. “But we need the community’s help. This can’t rest on CMS alone. We’re all in this and it rests with all of us.”
As of Oct. 21, there were 18 random safety screenings, a CMS spokeswoman told the Observer. From Aug. 25 to Oct. 21, eight handguns and were found on CMS’ campuses, according to district data.
Winston posted multiple tweets on Wednesday evening about guns entering the district’s schools.
“I am concerned and I know I’m not alone,” he said. “Guns are coming into our schools from homes and streets. We must address this problem, but also the underlying issues that are leading to school-age adolescents getting access to guns in the first place.”
In a another tweet, Winston asked that his “counterparts in local municipal government and local law enforcement leadership” to join him “for the first of what might need to be (a) series of discussions.”
Anna Maria Della Costa contributed.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 7:17 PM.
