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No Weapon Found At Myers Park HS, But CMS Says 'Clear Evidence' Shows It Was There

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Update: Wednesday at 4:50 p.m.

CMS officials say no actual weapon was confiscated at Myers Park High School this week, but that law enforcement officials had enough evidence to determine that a student did have a weapon on the campus at some point. A CMS official said a student was charged by police with having a weapon at the school based on video, photographs and interviews. They did not provide any further details.

The Myers Park weapons’ incident was mired in confusion with contradictory messages sent to parents by the school’s principal and confirmed by CMS officials. The initial message said school officials had received a tip through social media on Monday about a gun on campus which prompted them to go into lockdown mode. Parents were told that no weapon had been found and classes resumed.

A second notice that afternoon confirmed that no weapon turned up after an extensive search was conducted. The next day, Tuesday, the principal sent out another alert to parents, this time saying a student did have a weapon on campus Monday and had been taken into custody.

On Wednesday, a CMS official sent an email saying that even though the weapon was not found, police had enough "clear evidence that the weapon was on campus."

No explanations were given for the contradictory messages sent to parents by school officials or CMS administrators. This comes at a time when CMS officials have tightened security measures at schools throughout the district, including adding additional cameras and conducting random screenings for weapons at district schools. They also said they would improve communications with parents and the public during threatening situations.

Another incident involving a Myers Park student was reported to parents in an alert sent out Tuesday. It said a female student posted a video of herself holding weapons in a car off campus. The two incidents are not thought to be connected. 

Update: Monday at 4 p.m.

Two gun incidents involving Myers Park High School students occurred Monday. The school went into lockdown mode after officials received a tip through social media that a student may have brought a weapon on campus.

In a message to parents that morning, Myers Park’s principal Mark Bosco said that the suspected student was apprehended and no weapon was found.

The lockdown, which occurred during the school’s third period was lifted and classes resumed. Later that afternoon, Bosco sent a second message assuring parents again that no weapons were discovered at the school.

“Our staff along with law enforcement have spent a number of hours thoroughly checking our campus,” Bosco said. “After an exhaustive search, no weapon has been found” 

[Related Content: CMS Launches Safety Screenings To Check High Schoolers For Weapons]

But on Tuesday afternoon, another message from Bosco was sent out saying a student did have a weapon on campus Monday and had been taken into custody. When questioned about the contradictory messages sent to parents Monday and Tuesday, CMS officials would only confirm that the principal’s last message about the weapon on campus was accurate and offered no further comment.

In his message, Bosco said, “I understand that the lockdown was traumatic for students, teachers and families. We will process our responses over the next few days. We will continue to review our safety and security procedures to make sure we have the tightest response possible.”

In addition, Bosco informed parents in the Tuesday message that a separate incident was also uncovered in which “a student posted a video of herself holding weapons in a car off campus.” Bosco said Charlotte police officials do not think the two incidents are connected and that no threats were made against anyone at the school.

CMS officials began random weapons screenings at high schools in January. They are in response to the October 2018 fatal shooting of a student on the campus of Butler High. A fellow student has been charged in that shooting. So far, weapons screenings have taken place at 10 district high schools. Myers Park is not one of them.   

Gwendolyn is an award-winning journalist who has covered a broad range of stories on the local and national levels. Her experience includes producing on-air reports for National Public Radio and she worked full-time as a producer for NPR’s All Things Considered news program for five years. She worked for several years as an on-air contract reporter for CNN in Atlanta and worked in print as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, The Washington Post and covered Congress and various federal agencies for the Daily Environment Report and Real Estate Finance Today. Glenn has won awards for her reports from the Maryland-DC-Delaware Press Association, SNA and the first-place radio award from the National Association of Black Journalists.