Teens Arrested After Allegedly Robbing Classmate With Gun At School

The halls of a North Carolina high school turned into a frightening crime scene when three teens brought a gun to school and robbed another classmate in broad daylight, according to police.

A 15-year-old student at Rocky River High School in Mint Hill, North Carolina, said the other students surrounded him and ordered him to hand over his money around 2:15 p.m. on Monday, police reported.

The victim said the other teens showed him a handgun and that he cooperated with their demands. Video surveillance captured the trio dividing up the contents of the boy’s wallet after walking away, police said.

As of Tuesday evening, police had arrested the three students involved, who are 15, 16 and 17 years old. Police said they recovered a BB pistol that may have been used in the holdup at the home of 16-year-old Brandon Roberson, one of the three suspects.

Roberson faces charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a weapon on school property.

"The fact that the weapon was a BB pistol [and] not an actual firearm does not affect the charges that have been filed," Mint Hill police said in a statement Wednesday.

Police took the oldest student, Moises Hernandez, 17, into custody on Monday and charged him with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery -- both felonies.

Authorities also took a 15-year-old into custody, but have not identified him because he is considered a juvenile in the state of North Carolina. He was charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, as well as possession of a weapon on school property.

Records show this is Hernandez's third arrest in a year. The teen was previously arrested in late 2014 for second-degree trespass, a misdemeanor, and again in May for second-degree trespass and possession of marijuana up to a half ounce.

The holdup, meanwhile, has left local parents on edge, with some saying they may transfer their children to another school.

“I’m very upset. It’s making me rethink having my child at a public school,” Candice Bonner told Charlotte’s WSOC-TV.

Meanwhile, fellow parent Karen Ham expressed shock, describing the incident as far from the norm.

“It’s very surprising, because Rocky River is such a great school and I’m very surprised to hear any student at Rocky River would have a gun at the school,” she told the station.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools did not immediately return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

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