13-year-old student charged with reckless conduct after joking about having a gun

PRESS RELEASE – On Friday, Sept. 13 at around 5:10pm, a bus driver from Little Mill Middle School contacted school transportation stating that students on the bus were indicating someone had a gun on the bus.

Working with School Safety and Transportation, 911 Dispatch was able to locate the exact location of the bus by its GPS locating system.

Deputies arrived within minutes, and with the limited information they had about a person being armed, they boarded the bus with weapons drawn.

The investigation revealed a student on the bus was playing a video game on his phone, when a 13-year-old student sitting behind him stood up and said, “he has a gun”. This comment instilled fear in the other students and they began repeating “gun”. The student was taken off the bus and searched. 𝐍𝐨 𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬. When questioning the 13-year-old about the outburst he indicated he thought it would be funny. That student has been charged with Reckless Conduct. He will answer to those charges before a Forsyth County Juvenile Judge and the school system will take appropriate disciplinary action.

Deputies waited with the bus until all students had been picked up by their parents.

Sheriff Freeman responded to the scene and has this message. “We need our students to report suspicious activity, but this reckless and just plainly stupid action we have seen in this incident, and several others this week are infuriating. Nothing about this or others is funny. I nor the Forsyth County School System will
tolerate this. Parents talk to your kids, reiterate the dangers and punishment that will follow such stupidity. Please also encourage them to take a breath, everyone is anxious but we need them to report any legitimate suspicious acts. Together we keep our schools, students and staff safe.”