BERKELEY COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - Goose Creek police are searching for a 16-year-old male Stratford High School student who ran away from the campus Tuesday morning after a loaded handgun was found inside his bookbag.
A Goose Creek police officer who was assigned as the Stratford High school resource officer was notified by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday that a student may be armed with a handgun from a recent break-in, according to Goose Creek police spokesman John Grainger.
The SRO found the student and brought him to the office.
When the school administrator was summoned to conduct a search, the student ran away from the school, Grainger said.
The loaded gun was then found in the student’s bag, according to Grainger.
The SRO ran after the student and lost sight of him, a perimeter was established but the K-9 lost the scent.
“Stratford High School was placed in lockdown as a precautionary measure to ensure student safety,” Berkeley County School District Spokeswoman Katie Orvin said. “Students are safe. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Police are trying to determine why the student brought the gun to school.
When the student is located he will be processed for family court charges, police said.
“It is important to stress that the student in question did not vocalize any threats toward the school, students, staff, officers, or otherwise,” GCPD officials said."Rest assured that our officers assigned to Stratford HS are fully informed on today’s incident and are prepared to carry out their duties at the school should a threat present itself tomorrow or otherwise."
“I cannot emphasize enough that I want our community and our parents to feel safe with their children here at the school,” said Capt. Shawn Laffey with the Goose Creek Police Department."Everyone has done everything. Everything worked good today. The system worked great. Things happened very efficiently, effectively and safety is our paramount concern."
Police: Student ran away from Stratford HS after loaded handgun found in bookbag
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