CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Officials said a 14-year-old has been charged with bringing a loaded gun to South Mecklenburg High School Tuesday afternoon.
[ALSO READ: CMS selects next round of schools to undergo new security screenings]
Authorities said the student was showing the weapon off to other classmates around 12 p.m. on campus.
Sources told Channel 9 that the gun was a fully loaded 25-caliber handgun with one round in the chamber.
"This is why I don't have my son in school anymore,” parent Amanda Pressley said. “He does online classes because it's just terrifying for students to have to worry about going through that every day."
Officials said they’re still trying to determine why the teenager brought the gun to school, but they believe he may have bought it for protection.
This comes just a month after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District began implementing new security screenings at randomly selected high schools. Officials said this weapon was not found because of a screening.
"It makes you wonder how many more measures can they really take to make sure everybody is really secure," parent Colette Evans said.
The following message was sent home to parents:
Good afternoon South Mecklenburg High Families, this is Principal Furr with an important message. A firearm was located in possession of a student today on our campus and was immediately turned over to the school resource officer. There is no indication that a threat was made to anyone. All students and staff remained safe. Our instructional day was not interrupted. It is a violation of CMS policy and state law to have a firearm on any CMS campus. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against anyone in violation. Parents please speak to your child to remind them that our safety at school is top priority and to not bring inappropriate items to school. Thank you for your support of South Mecklenburg High School.
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