VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An 18-year-old is facing charges after authorities said they found a loaded handgun in the student's backpack at Bayside High School in Virginia Beach on Wednesday.
Bayside High School's Principal Troy Walton sent a message to families, saying the school administration was made aware of a concerning picture on social media, leading to the search of two students. During the search, one of the students was found to have a loaded handgun in their backpack.
Virginia Beach police determined the gun was stolen out of the City of Chesapeake.
Kavonta Hawkins was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds and receipt of a stolen firearm, police said.
No one was injured, and Walton said all students and staff are safe.
"As the safety and security of our students and staff are our highest priority, we ask that you please remind your children that weapons of any kind are not allowed on school property for any reason and can lead to serious consequences," Walton said in the statement to families. "In addition, continue to remind your children that if they see or hear something concerning, they should report it to police or an adult immediately."
Walton said the Nashville shooting on Monday may lead to more fear, and the findings Wednesday may have enhanced those fears.
Walton said that school counselors are available and can help in finding additional resources if they're needed.
"I feel like it was very unsafe and it doesn’t need to happen anymore for our safety and the teachers as well," Zorianna Walls, a Bayside student told News 3's Leondra Head.
Walls said the student was in her class last semester, and said she was shocked to hear about the incident.
"Honestly, I just think it was for attention purposes. They weren’t actually going to do anything. Just to get attention," Walls said.
News 3 also caught up with Troy Elliot who was waiting to pick up his wife, a school secretary at Bayside.
"It’s alarming," Elliot said. "You only think things like this happen somewhere else but it hits close to home."
Elliot says he’s thankful the incident didn’t end in tragedy.
"Nobody is really feeling safe in the school system or schools in general because it could happen at any moment," Elliot said. "Today was a remember to me that it can happen at Bayside and my wife could have been caught up in a situation where it could have potentially been tragic."
