An 18-year-old Fuquay-Varina student is facing a felony charge and two misdemeanor counts after school staff say they found a pistol and knives inside his vehicle at Willow Spring High School. Keegan Chance Hoerr was accused, according to warrants, of bringing a Highpoint 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a pocket knife onto the Fuquay-Varina campus, prompting his arrest by the Fuquay-Varina Police Department.
The discovery began after Willow Spring High School staff received a report of a firearm inside a student's vehicle on campus, according to WRAL. The school alerted its school resource officer and Wake County Public School System security, and an officer searching the vehicle reportedly found the weapon, two small knives, and prohibited substances. School officials confiscated the items, and Hoerr was removed from campus.
Hoerr now faces a felony charge of bringing a gun onto educational property, along with two misdemeanor counts of carrying a weapon on educational property, per the same report. Because Hoerr is an adult student, he is charged under North Carolina General Statute § 14-269.2(b), which makes it a Class I felony for an enrolled student to knowingly possess or carry a firearm onto school grounds — even if the weapon never leaves a vehicle. That charge carries a potential sentence of 3 to 12 months, according to NCSU Student Legal Services. The knives found in his car fall under a separate statute, N.C.G.S. § 14-269.2(d), which classifies pocket knives and other sharp-edged instruments on school property as a Class 1 misdemeanor rather than a felony.
Principal Says No One Was Threatened
Willow Spring High School Principal Wade Martin said there was no indication that anyone was ever threatened or in danger during the incident, the station's report notes. Martin also used the moment to remind families to secure all firearms and keep them locked in a gun safe. That warning tracks with N.C.G.S. § 14-315.1, which allows a Class 1 misdemeanor charge against a gun owner who leaves an operable firearm accessible to a minor living in their home if that minor then brings the weapon onto school grounds.
Under North Carolina law, any student found in possession of a firearm on campus faces a mandatory 365-day suspension, a consequence confirmed in the same WRAL account. Wake County Public School System policy classifies firearm possession as a Level IV violation — the district's most severe disciplinary category, reserved for conduct that directly compromises campus safety. Under that policy, principals are required to recommend an immediate 365-calendar-day suspension to the board of education or superintendent, though state law also allows the local superintendent to modify that suspension length and permits students to petition for readmission after 180 days, as Hoodline has previously reported. It remains an open question whether Hoerr will pursue that readmission path once he becomes eligible.
Additional Consequences and Unanswered Questions
North Carolina also imposes an automatic driving penalty in cases like this: any student suspended for more than 10 consecutive days for a weapons violation on school property faces a mandatory one-year revocation of their driver's license or permit. It is not yet known from available records how the firearm was accessed or whether the safe-storage law could trigger a secondary investigation tied to how the pistol ended up in Hoerr's vehicle.
Wake County schools have leaned on multiple reporting tools to catch weapons before they escalate into violence. For the 2024–25 school year, the district adopted the Say Something anonymous reporting app developed by Sandy Hook Promise, giving students, parents, and staff a 24/7 way to flag weapons or security concerns. The state has also pushed the NC S.A.F.E. initiative since 2023, a public education campaign that distributes firearm locks and promotes secure storage to prevent unauthorized access by minors.
Part of a Pattern Across Wake County Schools
The Willow Spring case is the latest in a string of campus firearm incidents across Wake County this year. Hoodline reported in May on a similar case at East Wake High School, where staff recovered a loaded gun from a student, and on a separate incident at Broughton High School involving a firearm found in a vehicle on campus. In July, felony charges were filed after a firearm discharge at a different Wake County public school campus. Even so, statewide data released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in February showed reported crimes in North Carolina public schools, including weapons possessions, fell for a second consecutive year during the 2024–25 school year — a trend that has not stopped individual firearm discoveries from prompting swift law enforcement responses.
Willow Spring High School itself only opened for its own student body in August 2021, after years serving as temporary swing space for Fuquay-Varina High School students during renovations that began in 2019. Martin previously served as a WCPSS assistant superintendent who helped plan the new campus to accommodate rapid suburban growth in the area. No further details on Hoerr's court proceedings have been released.
