Two 13-year-old boys allegedly pulled a gun on another 13-year-old during a THC vape-pen deal in High Point, North Carolina, then ran off with the pens, according to police. No one was hurt in the confrontation, which unfolded in a parking lot near Mill Avenue on Monday evening.
High Point police say officers responded around 8 p.m. on Monday, to the 900 block of Mill Avenue, according to an official press release from High Point Police Department Chief Curtis Cheeks III and Public Information Officer Victoria Ruvio. The case was logged under Report Number 2026-22275. As reported by the Charlotte Observer, a 13-year-old boy had arranged to sell THC vape pens to people he knew, and the seller and the two suspects met up in a nearby parking lot to complete the deal.
Instead of paying, one of the suspects allegedly pulled out a gun, and the pair took the vape pens from the victim before fleeing on foot, per the same account. THC vape pens are portable cannabis consumption devices typically shaped like long, slender pens, according to Green Goods Dispensary. Nobody was injured during the robbery, High Point police said.
Juvenile Petitions Filed, Identities Withheld
High Point police identified the two suspects only as 13-year-old boys living in High Point, and filed juvenile petitions against both of them following the department's August 20 release. One boy's petition alleges armed robbery and assault by pointing a gun, while the other's alleges conspiracy to commit a felony, the newspaper's report notes. A filed juvenile petition is the document required to initiate a case in juvenile court, and it leads to service of the petition and a summons on the juvenile along with a parent or guardian.
The identities of the victim and both suspects are being withheld by law enforcement because of their ages, and both suspects are legally presumed innocent, according to reporting by Star News TV. High Point sits roughly 75 miles northeast of uptown Charlotte, and the robbery took place in a residential stretch of Guilford County near the Highland Cotton Mills Village Historic District, a planned textile mill community dating to 1913 that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, according to the Historical Marker Database.
What Happens Next in Juvenile Court
Because the older suspect faces an armed robbery allegation rather than a Class A felony like murder, his case falls under North Carolina's discretionary juvenile transfer process. Under North Carolina General Statute § 7B-2200, juveniles between 13 and 15 charged with non-Class A felonies such as armed robbery require a mandatory probable cause hearing before a judge can decide whether to move the case to adult Superior Court, per the UNC School of Government.
Separately, North Carolina General Statute § 14-269.7 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 120 days in custody, for anyone under 18 to willfully carry a handgun, according to FindLaw. It remains unknown how the 13-year-old obtained the gun used in the robbery. If an adult knowingly provided the firearm, North Carolina General Statute § 14-315(a1) makes transferring a handgun to a minor a Class H felony, per the UNC Legislative Reporting Service — though the dossier does not indicate whether investigators are pursuing that angle.
Vaping and THC Use Among NC Teens
The High Point case surfaces amid ongoing concern about youth vaping statewide. E-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product among North Carolina youth, with an estimated 18,600 middle schoolers and 57,300 high schoolers reporting tobacco product use in 2022, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Separately, research analyzing North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey data published in BMJ Open found that about 9.6% of the state's high schoolers reported having ever vaped cannabis or THC products through e-cigarette devices.
The case also arrives within the framework of North Carolina's broader juvenile justice overhaul. The state enacted its Raise the Age law in 2017 and implemented it in December 2019, keeping most 16- and 17-year-olds in the juvenile system while preserving transfer provisions for serious violent felonies committed by youth as young as 13, according to the Wake Forest Law Review. High Point police handle major felony cases like this one through their Patrol Division and Violent Crimes Unit, operating out of headquarters at 1730 Westchester Drive.
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