A 16-year-old is facing felony charges after Huntersville police and school resource officers say they found a 3D-printed handgun at a CATS bus stop just off the North Mecklenburg High School campus on Wednesday.
Officers detained the teen and recovered the weapon at the scene. He is also accused of having marijuana. Because of his age, authorities have not publicly released his name.
According to police, the incident started when a concerned resident called in a report of a young man carrying what looked like a gun at the CATS stop on Bryton Town Center Drive near the school. Huntersville officers and school resource personnel tracked the teen to a nearby retail store, detained him, and recovered what they described as a 3D-printed handgun. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, felony possession of a weapon on educational property, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and simple possession of marijuana, as reported by WBTV.
Police say the seized item is a 3D-printed firearm, a type of privately made gun that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives warns can be hard for investigators to trace because it does not carry a traditional serial number. The ATF notes that these privately made firearms, often called ghost guns, are turning up more often in law enforcement seizures and can complicate efforts to track where a weapon came from.
What North Carolina law says
North Carolina law treats guns on or near schools as serious business. Possessing a firearm on educational property can be charged as a Class I felony under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-269.2.
When a juvenile is involved, there is another layer. Under Chapter 7B of the N.C. General Statutes, prosecutors and judges can seek to move serious felony cases to superior court, depending on the juvenile’s age and the severity of the charges.
Local context
For North Mecklenburg families, the bust is not happening in a vacuum. The campus has dealt with weapons issues before, including a 2024 incident where a gun was found in a student’s backpack after a fight. That case was reported by WSOC-TV, and the latest arrest at a nearby bus stop is likely to add to ongoing school safety worries for parents and staff.
Huntersville police say the investigation is still active and that they are following up on leads. No further details about the teen’s case had been released as of the latest update, according to WBTV. Anyone with information is asked to contact Huntersville Police.
