Myrtle Beach Middle School student expelled for not reporting classmate’s gun wants a return to the classroom

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A 12-year-old Myrtle Beach Middle School student who was expelled in February after a review board said he failed to report that a classmate brought a gun into the building has appealed the decision.

The five-page motion was filed June 13 in Horry County Court of Common Pleas by the juvenile’s guardian ad litem and offers more insight into what happened on Feb. 6, when a bullet found in a bathroom led to one boy being charged with three felonies.

According to the appeal, the boy with the gun threatened his schoolmate, who doesn’t speak English. That intimidation scared him.

Two days after the incident, Myrtle Beach Middle School assistant principal Cassie Bosnell contacted the guardian ad litem, explaining in a letter that a disciplinary hearing was scheduled.

Ultimately, the Horry County Schools Board of Education upheld the expulsion.

“John Doe answered questions about his knowledge of the gun when asked. There is no evidence he concealed any knowledge he had regarding the gun or the armed student when questioned by school authorities,” the appeal states. “John Doe consistently stated .. that the armed student threatened John Doe and ‘everyone who saw him’ when John Doe stated he was in ‘fear,’ and that is why he did not say anything.”

The incident touched off a flurry of activity by district leaders amid concerns from parents that schools weren’t safe.

By Feb. 27, the district announced plans to install metal detectors in all schools while hiring more staff. Then in March, officials rolled out a new reporting system that allowed complaints to be filed anonymously and in real time.

Days later, board members gave a rare vote of no confidence in the district’s security office.

Longtime district safety chief David Beaty was ousted in early May — asked to resign by Superintendent Rick Maxey on behalf of the board.

Maxey, who’s retiring, included in this year’s $1.16 billion budget nearly $2.5 million to hire two safety and security program specialists and more guards to conduct “all-day searches.”

The complaint criticizes district leaders for having policies so lax that a gun was able to find its way into the school.

“The duty to protect students from danger is the duty of the school, its employees and the administration. The failures which led to a student bringing a loaded gun into the school are failures of the school .. and are not the responsibility or duty of John Doe, a twelve year old child,” the complaint says.

“If there are consequences to be had, they should be the burden of the school, its employees and administration to bear, instead of passing that responsibility onto the students they have a duty to protect,” it concludes.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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