Thursday, November 15, 2018

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The Aiken Department of Public Safety has charged a man in connection to a 6-year-old boy who was found carrying a gun in his backpack to Chukker Creek Elementary School on Wednesday.

According to officials, Marquise Ervin was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of simple possession of marijuana and was brought to the Aiken County Detention Center for questioning.

Officials said that because of Ervin, the child had access to the gun when he should not have. They also stated that the gun was readily available to two young children in the house.

Ervin was then served with two warrants for unlawful conduct towards a child.

This story is still developing.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

6:30 p.m.

News 12 at 6/NBC at 7

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- There was a very scary moment for a parent at Chukker Creek Elementary this morning. They got a call from the school telling them about the gun.

The gun was in a student's book bag on the bus. Luckily other students told the bus driver as they were getting off the bus and the driver called the school administration.

The bus was carrying more than 50 students on their way to start their day so this could have been very bad. The district tells News 12, that the gun was loaded. But thankfully nobody was hurt.

“Before our instructional day began this morning, a number of students reported to our bus driver that our younger student had a gun in his book bag," said the robocall parents received.

Those chilling words were the first thing parents heard this morning in a call from Chukker Creek Elementary.

"It just seems boggling that this could even happen,” said Edward Langworthy, who has a third-grader at the school. “You know, that this wouldn't even be an issue at an elementary school, but it is."

Langworthy said he was terrified.

“I was really worried,” said Langworthy. “I also feel bad for the child, and then I started wondering and worrying about what the protocol is, what the precautions are, how do we keep these things from getting into our schools?"

In a statement, the district says a first-grade student had a loaded gun in their book bag. The bus driver of the bus was told about the gun by other students as they were exiting the bus onto school grounds.

“I'm very grateful,” said Langworthy. “I mean I was worried about my son, but there was some settling when I saw the email."

Administrators talked to the student and police were called. The student was removed from campus, and parents were notified.

The school district says all of their protocols were followed and law enforcement arrived within minutes. But things could have gone very differently if the gun had been found while the bus was moving, with a full-scale stop and evacuation.

“These are dangerous times we are living in now, and our children's security needs to be the most important thing that we have," said Langworthy.

Langworthy says he is at a loss for how they can avoid things like this. But his kids will be riding with him from now on.

"I would venture to guess that a lot of parents are going to be picking their children up and taking them to school," said Langworthy.

And there was some confusion about when the gun was found

Initially, many people thought the gun was found while the bus was on the way to school, and that nothing was done about it until it pulled in.

The district says that is not the case, and the bus driver was only found out when students were getting off the bus. The district says all protocol was followed.

On news 12 at 6 o'clock, we're looking into the protocol in a situation like this.

3:13 p.m.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- School officials are stating that the gun bought to Chukker Creek Elementary on a school bus was loaded.

There were over 50 students on the bus at the time of the incident and no one was injured.

School officials stated that the bus driver was notified by other students on the bus that another student had a gun as they were exiting onto school grounds. The bus driver immediately notified the proper school officials.

The Aiken Department of Public Safety is currently investigating this incident.

News 12 is still following this story and updates will be available at 5 and 6.

12:03 p.m.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- In a call sent out to parents, an administrator at Chukker Creek Elementary, in Aiken, said a gun had been found on a school bus.

The woman in the call said that a "younger student" was found with a gun in his backpack while on the bus headed to school.

"Immediately as the bus pulled into our school, our administration addressed the student and spoke informally with other students who made the report," the woman said.

The student was taken to the school's front office instead of heading to class with their peers. A gun was then found in the bag during a search.

The child is under supervision by school officials or Aiken Public Safety officers.

" We understand how concerning this message is to our school community. The police know that we have followed appropriate procedures with the full support of the Aiken Department of Public Safety."

The message goes on to say students are safe and the situation is being handled "as quickly as possible". The school is operating as normal Wednesday with more officers on the grounds.

It's unclear why the bus did not pull over when the gun was discovered, as opposed to driving the rest of the way to the school.

Check back for the latest on this developing story.