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On Monday, April 14, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer (SRO), assigned to Snowden Elementary School, received a complaint from the school administration that a student may have possessed a handgun on a bus.  A witness shared with the school administration that the student who possessed the handgun pulled it from a bookbag and tossed the gun out of the window of the bus.

After receiving the complaint, the SRO and the school administration took immediate steps to ensure that Snowden Elementary School was safe.  The SRO notified the Criminal Investigative Division of the incident and began a preliminary investigation. Criminal investigators responded to Snowden Elementary School and began a prompt but thorough investigation into the incident. With the assistance of Beaufort County Schools and Snowden Elementary School Administration, criminal investigators were able to conduct witness interviews as well as review video footage taken by the school bus video system.

As a result of the investigation, it was determined that the juvenile did possess a handgun and threw the handgun from the window of the bus.  Working diligently, criminal investigators were able to recover the handgun that was discarded by the juvenile.  On Thursday, April 17 with the assistance of the Department of Juvenile Justice, criminal investigators obtained and served the juvenile with a petition and secured custody order.  This investigation is ongoing.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office continues to work to provide the safest environment for all students of Beaufort County.  Sheriff Hammonds and his staff are committed to working with Beaufort County Schools, law enforcement partners and the community to ensure all children of Beaufort County are safe.

Sheriff Scott Hammonds asks anyone with information regarding suspected drug sale/use or any other crime to contact the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 946-7111.  You can also submit tips anonymously by contacting Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at (252) 974-6400 or submit your confidential tip by downloading the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office App and selecting Submit A Tip.