2 teens charged after gunshots reported near Carrboro High School cause lockdown
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Carrboro High School students entered lockdown after shots were reported outside school.
- District officials reported no evidence yet that anyone at or in the school was injured.
- Carrboro police were called to the scene and officials urged parents to stay away.
Carrboro police charged two teenagers, including a Carrboro High School student, after a report of gunshots sent the school and two others nearby into lockdown Tuesday.
A 17-year-old identified as a Carrboro High student and a 16-year-old were charged with juvenile warrants alleging felony possession of a handgun with an altered serial number and misdemeanor possession of a handgun by a minor for a shooting incident that occurred Tuesday, police reported.
The teens are not being publicly identified because they are juveniles.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened just before noon in the woods next to apartments at 180 BPW Club Road near Carrboro High School, they said. The high school is located on Rock Haven Road, off Smith Level Road just south of downtown.
A Carrboro High school resource officer heard a series of shots, along with students who were having lunch outside the building. Some of the students left the campus after the shots rang out, Chapel Hill-Carrboro district spokesman Andy Jenks said.
Other students sheltered in the school with the doors locked, he said. The Chapel Hill Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and Hillsborough Police Department helped Carrboro police secure the school and locate the suspects, police said.
The incident also put nearby Culbreth Middle and Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary schools in secure mode a short time later, which means students go through their day as normally as possible, while being kept safe and indoors, Jenks said.
All three schools resumed normal operations around 1:30 p.m., Jenks said. Carrboro High dismissed students as usual at 4 p.m.
“We know this has been an upsetting experience. Carrboro High School families who are interested in picking up their student today may do so by using the normal student check-out procedures,” officials said in a Facebook update.
The case is still under investigation and additional charges are possible, Carrboro police said.
Anyone with information about the incident can call the Carrboro Police Department at 919-918-7397 or Crime Stoppers at 919-942-7515.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 12:49 PM.
CORRECTION: Carrboro police say a 17-year-old arrested in the April 14 incident is a Carrboro High School student. The 16-year-old is not a student.
