LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — An unloaded gun was found and confiscated Tuesday from a student at a Lexington Three middle school, according to officials.
The weapon was found at Batesburg-Leesville Middle School (BLSMS) after school officials received a tip that a student had shown a handgun to other students on campus.
Immediately upon receiving the tip, school administrators and the school's resource officer located the student and took possession of the student’s book bag, officials said.
District officials say an unloaded handgun was found while conducting a search of the book bag. No ammunition was found.
A statement on the schools Facebook page says,
"Earlier today at B-L Middle School, school administrators were notified of a potential weapon on campus. Administrators and our school resource officer responded swiftly to the situation, confiscating the book bag of a student and locating an unloaded handgun. No ammunition was found and at this point in the investigation, it is not believed that the student made any direct threats towards the school or other students. All of this information was sent to middle school parents first via email around lunchtime today and again via voicemail this afternoon.
Lexington County School District Three administrators worked very closely with the B-L Police Department today to efficiently resolve this situation. The student who brought the weapon to B-L Middle School was arrested and is currently at the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia. According to district policy and state law, this student must be expelled for no less than one calendar year and barred from enrolling in any South Carolina public school while expelled.
We are posting this message to assure our Panther families that our schools are safe and will be open for learning on our regular schedules tomorrow, which is Wednesday, February 21st. Please know that our highest priority in Lexington Three is the safety of our students and our staff members. To be clear, Lexington Three takes school safety very seriously and any student or adult who jeopardizes our safe learning environment will be subject to the highest discipline and punishment allowed by state law and school board policy."