WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina police officer has confiscated a handgun from a student’s backpack at a magnet school, the fifth such incident in the same school system this month, officials said.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office officer took the gun from a student on Wednesday at Paisley IB Magnet School, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. The sheriff’s office said a tip that officials attributed to a local resident led to discovery of the gun.
No student or teacher was harmed, according to the sheriff’s office. The student wasn’t identified because they are a juvenile.
The student will be charged with possessing a weapon on campus, the sheriff’s office said. Students who bring firearms to campus are suspended for 365 days and sent to an alternative school, Winston-Salem/Forsyth Superintendent Tricia McManus said last week.
Since a fatal shooting at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem on Sept. 1, authorities say handguns have been found on students at Reynolds High School, Parkland High School and again at Mount Tabor last week. Those students also face charges of possessing a weapon on school grounds, authorities said.
In addition, McManus said last week that three BB guns were found on students at Paisley over the last month.