NC House Speaker Moore suggests arming students following UNC-Chapel Hill lockdowns

CHARLOTTE — Two gun-related incidents that caused two lockdowns at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill less than a month apart have raised the question: Should students be allowed to carry weapons on campus to protect themselves?

The most recent incident happened just last Wednesday. Police arrested Mickel Harris, 27, and charged him with having a gun on educational property. Harris is being accused of going into a bagel shop in the student union building with a gun and threatening to kill an employee. The campus was then put on lockdown prior to officers arresting Harris, who is still in jail.

Just three weeks before that, UNC Chapel Hill police say a graduate student shot and killed his professor in a lab on campus, forcing the entire college to be locked down. That student is now facing a first-degree murder charge.

Currently, in North Carolina, it’s illegal to carry a gun on any college campus. But following two gun-related incidents at UNC-Chapel Hill, one of our state’s most powerful politicians is saying it may be a good idea to allow students to arm themselves.

Here in Queen City, thousands of students are on the campus of UNC Charlotte; legally no one should be carrying a gun.

“Honestly, I don’t think guns should be on campus at all,” Apoorva Joshi, a student, says.

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore wants students to have the option to carry a gun. Just days ago, he spoke to Ch. 9 news partners at The Charlotte Observer.

“You’re not just going to snap your fingers and get rid of guns; that’s not reality; criminals are going to have guns; the best deterrent against a criminal with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Moore said.

Eddy Yuzik, another student at UNC Charlotte, believes that the suggestion may work.

“I believe there are students that are perfectly capable of going through the training and carrying a firearm responsibly,” Yuzik said.

However, many students agree that they wouldn’t trust themselves or their classmates to carry a gun, especially on a large campus where you’re not familiar with everyone.

“No, absolutely not; there are thousands of people here; I only know a few,” Austin Stubblefield said.

“There are a lot of really dumb people who like to do stupid things at two in the morning when they are drunk, and I don’t think they should have a gun,” Anna Benbow said.

Channel 9 has reached out to House Speaker Moore to see if there is any effort he is willing to put forward for a change in law. We are still waiting to hear back.

(WATCH BELOW: Suspect arrested, ‘all clear’ given after incident at UNC-Chapel Hill)

Suspect arrested, ‘all clear’ given after incident at UNC-Chapel Hill

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