Lancaster coach, SC and 10-year-old charged after child took coach’s gun to school

A Lancaster basketball coach and a 10-year-old on his team are charged after the child obtained a gun from the coach’s car, then later took the loaded weapon to school, officials said.

Not only was the gun illegally stored, police say, but the coach is barred by law from having a gun.

Isaac Lamon Adams, 36, the coach, is charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a weapon by a person convicted of a crime of violence, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Adams is barred in South Carolina from having any firearms or ammunition because of past criminal convictions, Barfield told The Herald Thursday.

The child is charged as a juvenile with possession of a weapon on school grounds, possession of a handgun by someone under age 18, and illegal carrying of a pistol, Barfield said. Those charges will be handled in South Carolina Family Court.

Adams is a coach of a recreational basketball team the child plays for in Lancaster County, officials said. Neither Adams, nor the basketball team, has any affiliation with the Lancaster County School District, said Bryan Vaughn, safety and transportation director for the school district.

“The basketball team and coach are not connected with the school district in any manner,” Vaughn said.

The child faces a possible one-year expulsion from school for having the weapon on campus, Vaughn said.

How the child got the gun

The Herald reported Tuesday that the child took the loaded handgun to Erwin Elementary School earlier that day. The gun was discovered by a sheriff’s deputy at the school after the child’s mother told officials the child may have the weapon, officials said.

No one was hurt and the loaded gun was not fired at school, officials said.

Further investigation by the sheriff’s office determined the child allegedly took the loaded gun from Adams’ car Monday night during practice at a recreation center in Lancaster County, Barfield said. Adams allowed the child to go unsupervised to the car during practice, Barfield said. Officials say they believe the child took the gun from the car at that time, Barfield said.

Adams notified the child’s mother Tuesday morning the weapon was missing, Barfield said. The child’s mother then went to the school and notified officials.

The loaded gun was found in the child’s pants, officials said.

“The child’s mother did the prudent and correct thing to immediately notify school officials who then had our school resource officer handle it,” Barfield said Thursday.

The Herald is not identifying the child or his mother.

Concern over gun storage around kids

An investigation by The Herald in 2019 found that in calendar year 2017, 159 guns in South Carolina were found by local, state and federal police in the hands of children younger than 17.

In 2017, a two-year-old child in Lancaster County died after a gun left on a table by his mother’s boyfriend fired.

Police, prosecutors and lawyers in York, Chester and Lancaster counties have urged gun owners to properly store and secure weapons to avoid dangerous outcomes by children who are untrained to handle firearms.

Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said Thursday a child having a loaded weapon at school is a danger to the school and public that can be avoided.

“Fortunately, nothing bad happened with this pistol at Erwin Elementary,” Faile said. “A loaded firearm in the possession of a 10-year-old child in a school full of students and staff is a really dangerous scenario. I applaud this child’s mother, school administrators, and our school resource officer for jumping into action immediately to find the pistol and ensure that everyone was safe.”

Faile confirmed Adams was banned from having a weapon or ammunition under South Carolina law.

“Mr. Adams should not have been in possession of this pistol and certainly should not have left it accessible to this child,” Faile said.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson has instituted a public service program through social media videos that tells people that storing guns in cars is not safe, and proper gun storage is the responsibility of adult owners.

Illegal guns in the hands of children

It is illegal for anyone under age 18 in South Carolina to possess a handgun, state law shows.

In November 2019, a Lancaster 10-year-old child was shot and killed by another 10-year-old who had a handgun, police said. In January 2019, a Lancaster girl was shot when other unsupervised juveniles had a gun, Lancaster Police Department officers said.

In 2015, a 16-year-old York Comprehensive High School student was arrested and later convicted for having an illegal handgun after he tried to join the terror group ISIS.

In 2018, prosecutors in Lancaster and York counties warned gun owners about safety when a child in a York County was found with a handgun that had been stolen from an unlocked car in Lancaster.

“I tell people, if you owned a rattle snake, I believe you’d take a keen interest in knowing where that snake was at all times,” 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett said in 2018. “You’d want to know. That’s the way you should be about a gun...It’s a dangerous piece of equipment. It’s capable of killing people. Too many accidents happen with guns and they need to be secured and stored properly.”