The 16-year-old North Carolina high school student who allegedly shot and killed his classmate on Monday is being held without bond.

Jatwan Craig Cuffie has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Bobby McKeithen.

Cuffie allegedly shot McKeithen in a crowded hallway at Butler High School in Matthews just before classes started on Monday morning.

The high school freshman appeared in Mecklenburg County District Court on Tuesday afternoon, wearing shackles at the waist.

Cuffie's face showed virtually no emotion as he was addressed by Judge David Strickland.

Jatwan Craig Cuffie, 16, (left) has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond in the death of his 16-year-old classmate Bobby McKeithen (right)

Public Defender Joel Adelman told Strickland that Cuffie poses no threat to the community and had no prior convictions. He asked that bond be set to $10,000.

He also asked for Cuffie, who is being held without bond, to be allowed to stay in his mother's custody at their home with electric monitoring before the trial.

Strickland refused and a bond hearing was scheduled for November 7, according to the Charlotte Observer. Cuffie did not speak.

If convicted, Cuffie faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

The shooting, which was partially captured on video, occurred just before classes began around 7.15am in the main hallway of the school.

It has since been revealed that the gun used in the shooting was stolen from a car in Gaston County, authorities told NBC Charlotte.

Cuffie allegedly shot McKeithen in a crowded hallway at Butler High School in Matthews just before classes started on Monday morning. Footage that appeared on Instagram showed screaming students fleeing the crowded hallway during the shooting

Footage that was posted on Instagram showed screaming students fleeing the crowded hallway after the suspect pulled a gun on McKeithen.

Matthews Police Department Captain Stason Tyrrell said a school resource officer was in the school cafeteria when he and security officers heard the screams and encountered students running in an adjacent hallway.

The resource officer found an injured McKeithen, tried to give aid and immediately called for a school lockdown.

Within five minutes, a teacher told school officials that she was with the student who allegedly shot the high school sophomore.

The teacher said the student admitted to the shooting and was ready to surrender, according to police.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said the shooting appears to have stemmed from a case of bullying 'that escalated out of control.'

The shooting occurred just before classes began at about 7.15am in the main hallway of the Butler High School (pictured) in Matthews on Monday morning

Parents walked to go pick up their kids outside the school after the scene was considered safe

'As fear took over, a young person brought a gun to solve the problem,' he added.

But family and friends have denied that McKeithen was a bully to anyone.

'The stories and rumors that you have heard about Bobby being a bully are not true,' a spokesperson for the family said.

'The stories and rumors that you have heard about Bobby being a bully are not true. Countless friends and teachers have spoken out and said that he has never been known as a bully. Bobby was truly a light in our eyes.'

Sophomore Jourdan Perry, one of McKeithen's closest friends, said he was 'caring and loving'.

'Bobby didn't bully anyone,' Perry said. 'I felt like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this wasn't supposed to happen to him.'

The two students reportedly had an altercation over the weekend which continued in one of the school's main hallways first thing on Monday morning.

Gavriel Fulcher-Daniels (left with his father Stephen Daniels) said the gunfire 'sounded like a balloon but louder'

Text messages from a student inside Butler High. pic.twitter.com/K67ZuRa7Ba — Ruby Durham WCNC (@RubyElizDurham) October 29, 2018

Here’s the alert that was sent to parents phones. pic.twitter.com/XnfaW7jdZM — Ruby Durham WCNC (@RubyElizDurham) October 29, 2018

High school student Jorge Sanchez said the shooting happened as the result of an argument that escalated.

He said that McKeithen, a friend of his, was shot in the back as he walked away.

'I saw the gun and I had to run,' Sanchez said, adding that the gunshot sent students sprinting through the halls.

'This is really sad to see someone go that...has been your friend, for I don't know how many years,' Sanchez said.

Another student told WCNC she witnessed the altercation, noting she heard 'a pop' before the two people involved started 'wrestling on the ground'.

'It sounded like a balloon but louder,' she added.

Parents gathered near the school to wait for news after the incident as students were held

Matthews is a town that is located about 12 miles outside of Charlotte, North Carolina

Police said several people apparently knew there would be an altercation at the school, but police had no information on it prior to the incident. Wilcox said that many students witnessed the shooting.

'We're incredibly saddened by the fact that we had a loss of life on one of our campuses today. What makes it doubly difficult is that it was one of our students who was the shooter,' he said.

School officials lifted the lockdown after two hours and said families could pick up students at the main entrance.

Before the lockdown was lifted, dozens of parents gathered outside of the school to await word on their children.

Some parents, who did not know the extent of the shooting, were crying as they arrived at the school in response to messages from their children.

Students could be seen streaming out of the building, with many crying and hugging their parents.