Alexander Savarese
INDIAN LAND, S.C. – A 29-year-old man was arrested Thursday after a loaded gun and a knife were found in a kindergartener’s backpack at a Lancaster elementary school, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
Around dismissal time on Wednesday, a teacher at Harrisburg Elementary School noticed a knife in a student’s backpack. Administration was called, and the school resource officer searched the backpack and found the knife along with a loaded .380 caliber pistol, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies said 29-year-old Alexander Savarese used the child’s backpack for a hike and put the knife and pistol inside. He forgot about them afterward and didn’t remove them before the student went to school on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Savarese, of Indian Land, was charged with one count of unlawful conduct toward a child.
“We don’t have any information indicating the child knew the knife and the pistol were in his bookbag,” said Sheriff Barry Faile. “We also don’t have any information that Savarese intended for the child to take them to school. However, it’s important that Savarese be held accountable for his conduct, which created a very real risk to the child and everybody else at Harrisburg Elementary.”
Savarese was booked into the Lancaster County Detention Center. He will appear before a magistrate for a bond hearing on Friday.
