At elementary school in Harnett County, middle schools in Cumberland and Orange, students found with weapons Friday
Students, staff and parents dealt with another set of school-enforced lockdowns and weapons threats on Friday, and one student, at Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School in Cumberland County, was charged with a crime.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said a student, who was not publicly identified because of their age, was found with an unloaded .380 handgun, a pocket knife, and a eyebrow razor blade at the school at 2517 Ramsey St. on Friday afternoon. That student will be charged with possession of a firearm on campus.
Authorities credited "a vigilant student" with reporting the presence of the weapon to school leaders.
In Harnett County, a school resource officer found a loaded gun in a student's backpack at Erwin Elementary School.
Erwin Police Chief Jonathan Johnson gave credit to students there for keeping their school safe.
"See something, report it," he said. "They done a great a job."
Johnson said those students alerted school staff and the SRO about the weapon. The officer was able to find the child and the gun, so the school never had to go on lockdown.
Police are trying to figure out how an elementary school student could get a hold of a handgun and whether any adults could face charges.
Adults in Wendell and in Rocky Mount were charged earlier this week in connection to other weapons found at other schools.
In Chapel Hill, school officials at Culbreth Middle School confiscated a gun pellet gun from a student Friday afternoon.
According to a letter that was sent to parents by principal Luke Paulsen, the gun was confiscated without disrupting the school day for students.
Paulsen said students were dismissed safely and after-school activities and events proceeded normally.
"We have no reason to believe it was used or displayed in a threatening manner," read Paulsen's letter. "We have identified the individual responsible for it, and appropriate consequences are being given."
In Garner, East Garner Middle School was locked down for about two hours due to a social media threat. In a message posted before noon on the school website, the school said all students are safe, but no one was allowed to enter or leave the building.
Around 1:20, the Code Red Lockdown was moved to code yellow. School officials said there has not been any act of violence and they asked parents not to come to campus. First responders were called to help a student who was dealing with apparent heat exhaustion.
In Nash County, Southern Nash Middle School was temporarily placed on lockdown, but it was lifted. The Nash County Sheriff's Office said they received an anonymous tip on a school-based tip line stating there was a weapon on campus. Deputies and school staff searched the school and did not find a weapon.
Four on Friday come amid spate of school threats
On Tuesday, guns were found at two schools in central North Carolina: One at Wendell Middle School in Wendell and another at Fairview Elementary School in Rocky Mount.
A student brought an Airsoft-style weapon to West Millbrook Middle School Wednesday. Authorities also found an unloaded gun on Wednesday inside a car in the parking lot of Cleveland High School.
Rocky Mount police charged a man with a misdemeanor after officers found an unloaded gun on Tuesday inside a 6-year-old boy's backpack at an elementary school.
Friday's developments came two weeks after numerous Wake County schools were locked down, including Zebulon Magnet Middle School, East Millbrook Magnet Middle School, Broughton High School, Dillard Drive Middle School, Dillard Drive Elementary School and Oberlin Magnet Middle School.
