CHARLOTTE — A student was found with a loaded gun on the campus of Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology Monday morning, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokesperson told Channel 9.
The weapon was found as the student walked through one of the school’s weapon detectors, CMS said. According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, an 18-year-old was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed gun and having a gun on educational property.
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The school was not put on lockdown because the weapon was discovered when the student arrived, according to CMS.
The district said this is the first time a gun was found through a weapon detector. This was the second day weapon detectors are being used at the school, CMS said.
Grandmother Angelina Berry told Channel 9 that she was relieved to hear they caught the gun before it got into the classroom and said the weapon detectors were a good idea.
“She was saying they arrested a boy bringing a gun to school. She don’t want me to panic,” said grandmother Angelina Berry. “Thank God they have the metal detectors. I didn’t even know they had them.”
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She wants to know how an 18-year-old got the gun in the first place.
“Where are they getting them from? That’s the real question. Where are they getting them from?” Berry said.
Sources told Channel 9 that it may have been a ghost gun. Officials confirmed that the gun found was a “Polymer-build,” which means it was bought in pieces in a kit and needed to be assembled. That is how ghost guns are made.
According to CMS, this is the 26th time a gun has been found on a CMS campus this school year. Channel 9 has counted 29 guns total -- those include pellet guns -- that have been found on CMS campuses.
Channel 9 is asking the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for more information. We have not heard back from them.
This is a developing story. Check wsoctv.com for updates.
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