Greenville County school teacher charged, fired after bringing gun into Tanglewood Middle

A now-former Tanglewood Middle School 7th grade teacher was arrested and charged Tuesday for carrying a gun on school property. He was fired the same day.

Tim Waller, spokesperson for the Greenville County School District, said Shavar Romario Stephenson, 25, of Greenville, carried a firearm into the school in his bag.

Stephenson is charged with possession of a firearm on school property, according to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. He was booked at the Greenville County Detention Center on Tuesday.

"The investigation was initiated yesterday afternoon after the school resource officer was alerted by school administrators that there was talk among students that a teacher had a gun in his bag," Lt. Ryan Flood with the sheriff's office said in a Wednesday morning press release.

More: Judge rules teen suspect in Tanglewood Middle School shooting will be tried as an adult

Stephenson's bond was set at $5,000, according to online jail records. As of 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, he had not posted bond.

Waller confirmed that Stephenson was terminated from the school district Tuesday.

The middle school, located off Merriwoods Drive near Old Easley Bridge Road, has had several incidents related to firearms in the last several years.

Earlier this year, a 15-year-old Tanglewood student was charged after an unloaded, stolen firearm was found in the student's backpack.

In 2022, a then-12-year-old Tanglewood student, Jordan Williams, shot and killed classmate Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson in the hallway of the school. A judge ruled in late March that Williams, now 14, will be criminally tried as an adult.

A civil lawsuit related to the case named both the school district and Williams' father and aunt.

Chalmers Rogland covers public safety for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News and USA Today Network. Reach him via email at crogland@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Tanglewood Middle School teacher charged, fired after gun found in bag