Andrea Brooks, 43, a Sandhills Middle School cafeteria employee, has been charged with carrying a weapon on school property.

According to the arrest warrant, the weapon was loaded, and the school resource officer found the firearm in one of the employee bathrooms, which was locked off to students. 

“The school resource officer was notified after a district employee told school administrators they discovered a firearm in one of the employee bathrooms,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the press release. “Brooks admitted to leaving the firearm in the bathroom after realizing he still had it on him.”

Brooks is being held in the Lexington County Detention Center and has been placed on administrative leave.