High School Student Expelled for Accidentally Leaving Shotgun in Truck

[RstyShcklfrd]

... and then receives a scholarship to college. It sounds like he tried to handle it responsibly. Good for him.

N.C. High School Student Arrested for Accidentally Leaving Gun in His Truck Gets Huge (Awesome) Surprise

David "Cole" Withrow has been expelled and received a felony charge for accidentally leaving his shotgun in his truck at school and calling his mother to come pick it up when he realized the mistake. (Photo via "Free Cole"/Facebook)In a matter of days, North Carolina high school student David "Cole" Withrow's situation has changed dramatically. For one,Liberty University announced Thursday that it will extend a scholarship to Withrow after he was suspended and arrested for accidentally leaving a shotgun in his pick-up truck parked in the school lot.
Withrow, a high school senior and Eagle Scout, had been skeet shooting the day before the incident and inadvertently neglected to store his firearm. Once he realized his error, he immediately locked the gun in his truck and went inside the school to call his mom so she could come pick it up.
But a Princeton High School official overhead Withrow's phone call to his mother and the school promptly called the police. After the gun was discovered in his truck, he was arrested and charged with a felony. The school is not allowing Withrow to return to school of the rest of the year, however, an attorney for Johnston County Schools on Thursday said he will still be allowed to graduate on time by attending an alternative school, WTVD-TV reports.
Now, Liberty University is stepping in to make sure that the high school senior will be able to continue on to college.
"In reaction to the gun control debate in America, Liberty University recently loosened - not strengthened - its concealed weapons policy on campus, and is now providing a scholarship to a North Carolina high school student who was arrested for leaving a shotgun in his pick-up truck in the school parking lot," the school announced in a press release provided to TheBlaze Thursday.
Jerry Falwell, Jr., the school's chancellor, told TheBlaze in a phone interview that he heard about Withrow's story by chance on a local evening news broadcast earlier this week and felt compelled to help. He actually called the student later that night and learned that he wanted to attend Liberty University but couldn't afford it.
Falwell said the school is prepared to "do whatever he needs" to help him complete four years of education at the university. The official terms of the scholarship will be discussed and agreed upon at a later date when the student meets with the school's admissions office, the chancellor added.
"We have a scholarship fund for outstanding students, such as honor students like him. So, because of what he's been through and how he's been mistreated for making an honest mistake...I went ahead and awarded him a scholarship," Falwell told TheBlaze, explaining that Withrow already meets many of the scholarship requirements anyway.
"I think he's a perfect fit for Liberty University," he added. "We will do whatever he needs to complete four years of tuition and room and board."
Falwell said "common sense" should have prevailed in Withrow's case. "I think they were just trying to make a point that guns are evil," he explained. "Our society is just going too far."
Before it was understood that Withrow would be able to graduate by completing an alternative schooling program, Liberty University was also offering to let him wrap-up his high school requirements through their online academy.


Earlier in the day, Falwell released the following statement: "When I reached out to encourage this responsible and impressive young man, I learned that he wanted to go to Liberty University, but couldn't afford it. I told him that we would do whatever he needed so that he can attend Liberty. Anti-gun zealots tried to vilify him for doing the right thing, so Liberty has decided to award him the help he needs to attend a private Christian college. I was really impressed with Cole. He is a humble and meek Christian kid who only wants to do the right thing! We want students like Cole Withrow."
As previously reported by TheBlaze, two school officials had reportedly brought guns onto school property in the past. One, a teacher at another high school within the district, was cited and resigned. The other is actually the assistant principal at Princeton High School where Cole spent the last four years. That person was suspended for three days and still works at the school. Neither case saw criminal charges like those Cole faces.
Liberty University allows qualified students, faculty and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus and in all buildings, excluding residence halls. You can follow Liberty University on twitter @LibertyU.
TheBlaze has reached out to Liberty University and is expected to receive comment soon. We will update this story at that time.

 

[matefrio]

My kids carry pocket knives outside school. I've told them, if one accidentally gets taken, to keep it out of sight and mind till the day is over and back home.

 

[rsayloriii]

My kids carry pocket knives outside school. I've told them, if one accidentally gets taken, to keep it out of sight and mind till the day is over and back home.

Exactly. If YOU don't draw attention to it, then it's unlikely anyone else would know.

 

[Pilgrim]

Fucking sick of these anti-gun schools systematically vilifying students without resorting to common sense - hey, here's an idea why don't you fucking talk to the kid after he got off the phone so he could explain why he was calling his mother to help him out. The kid made a mistake and, judging from him being on the honor roll, he's not a typical "risk" subject. They just wanted to make an unfair example of the kid. Strange - when I was growing up we had a shooting team in my High School and many of the teachers were proud of us because we represented the school in competition. Times have changed... and I'm not THAT old.

Kudos to Liberty University. We need more schools like that and less of the panic-mongers.

 

[Das Jared]

I carried pocket knives in school all the time. Locking blade kind. This was about 3 years ago. Teachers and principals didnt care

sent from my dishwasher

 

[hkusp1]

I was suspended for a pocket knife in junior high.

 

[rsayloriii]

I carried a pocket knife often my junior/senior years of high school, but never took it out and never told anyone. And while not as big of a deal (to us), I had a pellet gun in the truck once leftover from the night before's rat hunt at a friend's house.

 

[moshow9]

This was an honest mistake and the kid was trying to right his wrong. I wonder what school officials would have wanted him to do to fix his error? Something like this can have a negative affect on others, showing them that one should lie, cover up, or not try to make right a wrong they have committed. That is something educators should not do. Good on Liberty University.

 

[Blind Sniper]

Now if only the charges get dropped, the kid's record cleared, and the fuckwit staff member given the boot. Then everything will be back to how it fucking should be.

 

[Charlie]

As far as pocket knives go, I knew kids (especially Ag. students) carried pocket knives daily, but as the assistant principal I didn't go look for them. As long as they kept them in their pocket, nobody said anything. When they came out in class, I took them up and they had to be picked up by parents. When I went to high school (hundred years ago!) we always had shotguns, etc. in our trucks. But we were a rural district. Times are different now and folks should know better. Good luck to the kid.

 

[TwinGlocks]

I'm glad I'm not school anymore.

 

[Chirpy]

I'm attending a funeral today for a Scout that ran afoul of a similar "zero-tolerance" policy. I hope the administrators are proud of their decision.

My high school had shotguns and deer rifles in racks in the back window of just about every pickup. It was a status symbol.

Glad Falwell stepped up.


Sent from magic cutting boarde

 

[kyletxria1911a1]

man good for him!!! we had a rifle team in high school.. back in 75-79 no one shot no one killed.. i just dont get it.

 

[Dullandtasteless]

This was an honest mistake by what sounds to be an above average teen, but I don't blame the staff member that called the cops. Had he/she not called and someone else found out there could have been dire consequences. The system and laws that put that staff member in a hard place are to blame. So if this happens with my children and they call me I'm just gonna tell tem to leave school immediately and they can have a sick note for tomorrow, his mother had done that he would have been long gone before the police showed up, and then it is just hearsay.

 

[TheDan]

I used to keep a shotgun in my car in high school. Always had a pocket knife, too. My friends knew about both, but I never talked about it or showed it to anyone at school. This was about 15 years ago... No clue if it was legal or not and at this point don't care

 

[Coop45]

We had to carry pocket knives to dig new holes when the old washer pitching holes got too cobby!

 

[stdreb27]

Shoot we carried knives in school. 3-4 inch blades. He'll we'd clean our finger nails at our desks. Teachers didn't care....

 

[Stukaman]

Remember being in elementary school in Cali and have my a pen knife my grandpa gave me taken to be picked up by my parents, fast forward to high school in rural Oregon and I carried a knife we all did some guys even brought their rifles steering elk and deer season not legal but no one said much.

 

[Stumpy]

Always carried a knife at high school, as did the majority of my friends. NBD, but we didn't go running our mouths.


Sent from the mind of a genius. Forrealz.