Teacher brought a gun to a middle school, now he’s out of a job and in jail, SC cops say

A teacher lost his job and was arrested Tuesday after he brought a gun into a middle school in South Carolina, according to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

Shavar Stephenson, a 25-year-old Greenville resident, was charged with possessing a firearm on school property, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday in a news release.

Stephenson did not have “permission of the authorities in charge of that property to possess the firearm on school property,” an arrest warrant said.

The Greenville County School District teacher was “terminated” from Tanglewood Middle School, according to the release.

An investigation began Tuesday after the school resource officer was told by administrators that students were talking about a teacher who had a gun in his bag, the sheriff’s office said.

A gun was found in Stephenson’s bag that was inside his classroom, according to the release.

There was no word if the gun was loaded, and there was no indication from the sheriff’s office that Stephenson had threatened anyone with the weapon.

No injuries were reported.

Stephenson was arrested and taken to the Greenville County Detention Center, the sheriff’s office said. His bond was set at $5,000, and Stephenson remains locked up, jail records show.

If convicted on the felony charge, Stephenson faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $1,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.