Teen brought loaded gun to school, then shot a video holding it, NC sheriff says

A 16-year-old student at Holton Career and Resource Center has been charged with bringing a loaded, stolen gun to school Wednesday.

It was the second reported incident of a student bringing a gun to school or onto a school bus in the Triangle this week.

School resource officers learned the Holton student had made a video of himself holding the gun at the school on North Driver Street, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office reported Wednesday night.

They identified and searched the student and found he had a stolen handgun with an extended magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition. Hollow-point bullets are known for causing extensive damage to soft tissues and larger wounds, according to the Wiley Online Library.

The 16-year-old, whose name has not been released because of his age, has been charged with:

• possession of a weapon on educational property
• possession of a stolen firearm
• carrying a concealed weapon
• resist, delay and obstruct arrest
• possession of a weapon by a minor

He was being held in secure custody Wednesday night.

“We are grateful to the individual who brought this to our attention,” Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said in a news release. “We encourage the entire Durham Public Schools community to remain vigilant regarding potential violence on our campuses. If you see something, say something by telling a trusted adult, our SROs, or by utilizing the tip line.”

The confidential hotline number is 919-560-7151.

5 things we learned about rising gun thefts in the Triangle and NC

Gun brought onto school bus in Raleigh

On Wednesday, Raleigh police said a student at Sanderson High School had brought a firearm onto a school bus on Monday.

Police declined to share the juvenile’s age or gender and did not say where the student got the gun or whether it was stolen.

Guns being stolen from unlocked cars

Last year the Durham County Sheriff’s Office seized 262 firearms, according to a February news release. There were 34 guns reported stolen and 17 guns recovered or found.

The sheriff’s numbers do not include gun incidents handled by the Durham Police Department, which in 2021 received 414 reports of gun being stolen, more than half of them from cars.

Both Birkhead and Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews have said they are concerned about the number of guns being stolen from cars, sometimes parked outside their owners’ homes and often left unlocked.

“Firearms being stolen from unsecured motor vehicles remain a challenge, and our patrol units continue seizing weapons off the streets connected to various criminal activity,” Birkhead said in the February release.

Gun theft statistics are likely under counts , The News & Observer reported in 2022, because North Carolina, like many states, does not require gun owners to report them.

Sign Up for RDU on the Rise