USCB student charged with bringing gun onto Bluffton campus, police say
A student from University of South Carolina, Beaufort was charged with bringing a weapon onto school grounds after campus police say he drove onto the Bluffton campus with a gun, according to the university.
The 24-year-old senior was charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm by the USCB Department of Public Safety, according to Beaufort County Detention Center jail logs.
Just after midnight on Saturday, university police noticed a red truck enter school grounds and went to investigate, according to Candace Brasseur, a spokesperson for USCB.
While class at the university is remote until Aug. 1, there is student housing on the Bluffton campus.
Campus police “noticed the smell of alcohol and began the normal routine for doing a sobriety test. They also did a pat down and search, where they discovered the weapon,” said Brasseur.
She said police arrested the student because he had a weapon and did not have a concealed weapons permit.
The charge is a misdemeanor, and under state law, a conviction could could result in as much as a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail. The Island Packet typically does not name those charged with misdemeanors unless they are in a position of public trust.
USCB has a full-fledged police force and the ability to charge people they arrest. The student was not charged with possession of a firearm on school property, which is a felony and is applicable when a student brings a gun onto any school property.
Additionally, the school’s policy on firearms says “intentional use, possession or sale of firearms or other dangerous weapons by students are strictly forbidden and violate University policy and state law,” said Brasseur.
“The charge is left to the university police officer’s discretion,” she said.
Beaufort County sheriff deputies picked up the college senior, who had been detained by campus police, and brought him to the county detention center, a report from the sheriff’s office shows.
He was released the same day on a personal recognizance bond, according to court records.
