Last month, more than a dozens guns were found in North Carolina schools, prompting lockdowns and parental fear.

That same month in Wake County, a student brought a gun to Wendell Middle School. While the school system and law enforcement handed down their punishment on the student, the adult owner of the firearm now has her own set of consequences. A woman was arrested and charged with storing a firearm in a manner accessible to a minor.

Students who bring firearms to school can face suspension, expulsion and criminal prosecution, but gun owners in North Carolina who do not properly store their weapons away from minors may also face charges.

Following a string of lockdowns, Wake County Superintendent Catty Moore and school board chair Lindsay Mahaffey pleaded with parents to help stop the number of weapons from entering school campuses. The lockdowns come with a financial and psychological cost, they said, The News & Observer previously reported.

“If we want to keep our community healthy and thriving,” they wrote, “This simply cannot continue.”

With child gun deaths on the rise in North Carolina, here’s what gun owners need to know to about juvenile gun possession, violence prevention and how to properly store their weapons.

Juvenile gun possession

When it comes to minors purchasing firearms in North Carolina, the rules are clear: No one under the age of 21 may buy handguns, and no one younger than 18 can buy long guns, such as shotguns or rifles.

But North Carolina rules about minors possessing firearms are slightly murkier.

In North Carolina it is a misdemeanor for someone under the age of 18 to possess a handgun. But there is no similar NC statute specifically addressing the possession of “long guns” — rifles, shotguns and carbines. (There is, however, a statute that allows children younger than 12 to handle firearms with permission from or under supervision of adults.)

This means that although teens ages 13 to 17 cannot legally purchase long guns, it is not illegal to have them in their possession.

Potential charges for parents

People who have firearms and live with minors have a responsibility to store firearms in a way that unsupervised minors cannot access them, according to North Carolina statute 14-315.1.

However, there is a fairly steep threshold to prosecute these crimes.

Under the current safe storage law, parents can only face criminal charges if:

• a child takes the firearm without the parent’s permission and then

• displays that gun in public, threatens someone with it, brings it to a school, causes injury or death with the gun or uses it in the commission of a crime.

Only then, if a prosecutor decides to move forward with the case, will parents be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor. For first-time offenders, a Class 1 misdemeanor carries a penalty of no more than 45 days in jail and a potential fine determined by a judge.

Parents may also be subject to civil suits in these instances.

Guns in schools

It is a Class 1 felony for anyone of any age to possess or carry (openly or concealed) any kind of firearm on “educational property” or to an extracurricular activity sponsored by a school.

If that weapon is discharged, it’s a Class F felony. It is also a Class 1 felony to encourage or aid a minor to carry a firearm onto an educational property.

In February, several gun-related incidents were reported in the Triangle:

• On Feb. 6, two Hillside High School students were shot near campus during the school day. A 17-year-old boy was killed.

• On Feb. 14, a student brought a gun to Wendell Middle School.

• On Feb. 23, a teenager brought an AR-15 rifle to Millbrook High School in Raleigh during a basketball game.

• On Feb. 24, a 14-year-old brought a gun to Jordan High School in Durham.

Safe Storage Practices

Places that require safe storage report a drop in unintentional deaths related to firearms of up to 59%, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

An estimated 32% of youth firearm suicides and unintentional firearm deaths could be prevented through safe storage, DHHS said.

Here are some best practices for safe firearm storage, according to public health guidelines.

• Firearms should not be accessible to anyone except the owner.

• Unload firearms to store them.

• Keep firearms separate from ammunition.

• Put firearms in a locked place or secure them with a safety device, such as a gun lock.

Safety Devices

Gun locks are most effective for young children. With older children and teens, the NCDHHS recommends investing in biometric locks that are only accessible to the gun owner.

Free and discounted gun locks are available through Protect ChildSafe at projectchildsafe.org.

Guns in NC by the numbers

• In 2021, eight juveniles were fatally shot in Raleigh.

• In 2022, that number more than doubled. There were 18 juveniles fatally shot in Raleigh last year.

• In the final quarter of 2022, 11% of aggravated assaults were committed by juveniles with access to guns in Raleigh, Raleigh police data shows.

• More than 50% of juvenile suicides in North Carolina in 2021 involved a firearm, according to NCDHHS.

• 80% of juvenile homicides in 2021 in North Carolina involved a firearm, NCDHHS reports.