A 19-year-old man is out on bond after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged him with allowing a minor to possess a rifle at Berryhill Elementary School in West Charlotte, and with resisting a public officer after he ran into a wooded area as investigators responded to a shots-fired call.
Jeshua Medina, 19, faces two charges connected to the incident, according to WSOC-TV. Court documents reviewed by the station indicate CMPD charged Medina with allowing a minor to possess a rifle at Berryhill Elementary, and investigators say he fled into a wooded area while they responded to a shots-fired call. Berryhill Elementary is in west Charlotte. CMPD's Freedom Division operates out of headquarters at 4150 Wilkinson Boulevard, according to the City of Charlotte.
The station's report does not specify the age or identity of the minor, whether shots were actually fired on school grounds or in the adjacent wooded area where Medina fled, the rifle's ownership or recovery status, or the precise relationship between Medina and the minor. Those details remain unresolved as the case moves forward.
What North Carolina Law Says About Guns Near Schools
Knowingly possessing or carrying a firearm on educational property or at school-sponsored activities is a Class I felony under North Carolina General Statute § 14-269.2(b), per the North Carolina General Assembly. Separately, state law includes provisions concerning children and dangerous firearms.
North Carolina law includes provisions concerning the possession of rifles, shotguns and handguns.
A Familiar Pattern Across the Charlotte Region
This is not the first time a firearm has turned up near young students in the greater Charlotte area. In March 2026, deputies investigated an incident at Harrisburg Elementary School in nearby Indian Land after a loaded .380-caliber pistol and a knife were found inside a 5-year-old student's backpack, as Hoodline reported; responding deputies determined there was no indication that child knew the weapon was in the bag.
Berryhill Elementary itself is currently the subject of a major capital investment. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools acquired a 40-acre River District site in July to build a replacement campus.
Crime Trends Across Charlotte
The incident comes even as CMPD's midyear 2026 public safety report, released in July, recorded an 8% drop in violent crime and a 16% drop in overall crime across the city during the first half of the year compared to 2025. The same report noted that homicides rose slightly, from 39 to 40, over that six-month window.
North Carolina's broader gun violence picture remains a subject of public concern.
