14-year-old appears in court over gun threat at Fort Mill festival

FORT MILL, S.C. — A 14-year-old boy from Fort Mill has spent the last 10 days locked up after police said he pulled a gun at a crowded downtown festival and pointed it at two other teens.

The teenager faced a judge Tuesday in family court. The judge recognized him from a past arrest.

Court records showed the teen was already on probation, charged with malicious damage to property and intent to burn for an incident on a golf course.

An estimated 40,000 people went to Walter Elisha Park last weekend for the annual strawberry festival.

The incident happened about 9 p.m. Saturday.

Fort Mill police said the suspect was in an area called the Kids Zone by a slide when he pointed a black handgun at two other teens, threatening them.  Apparently, they knew each other and had a previous run-in that week.  Nearby officers working security saw people quickly moving away from the scene, Fort Mill police Maj. Bryan Zachary said.

"They saw a surge or large movement of people very abruptly. That was indicative to them of some kind of problem," Zachary said.

The teen was arrested downtown a few blocks away outside a Wells Fargo bank on Tom Hall Street.  Fort Mill police did an extensive search for the handgun from the park through downtown but didn't find it.

The teenager shook his head and looked upset when the judge told him he would not let him out of detention.  Deputy Solicitor Ouida Dest told the court that he's a danger to the community.

'We believe the parents cannot safely keep him from harming others or getting back into trouble," Dest said.

The teen will have another detention hearing next week. His public defender will no longer be representing him after learning this week that she also represents another client who is a potential witness against the teen.  Another lawyer will be chosen to represent him before his next court appearance.

The teen's parents are asking that he be released on house arrest and wear an ankle monitor.

Fort Mill police are still asking for help in the case by looking for more witnesses who saw the incident happen and urging them to come forward with information.

Cox Media Group