Mother Granted Bond After Child Brings Loaded Gun on School Bus

August 24, 2026

A South Carolina mother was granted a $25,000 bond after authorities said her 6-year-old child brought a loaded gun onto a school bus, reported WIS 10.

Destar Hall, 35, was arrested Aug. 18 and charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. She was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and is expected to return to court in October.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said a school resource officer at J.P. Thomas Elementary School was called after the child was found with a loaded AR-style firearm during the morning route. Officials safely took the weapon from the child and called Hall to the school.

Investigators reportedly said the gun had not been properly secured at the family’s home, allowing the child to gain access to it. Hall’s husband, Tony Hall, offered a different account during last week’s bond hearing. He said the couple’s children found the gun in the woods near their home and showed it to their parents. He said he told his wife to dispose of it but did not know what she did with it.

The 6-year-old later obtained the firearm and carried it onto the bus, according to the report.

“I felt like I could police it myself, and that was the problem, and that’s the step we should have took.” Tony Hall said via the article, adding that he should have contacted law enforcement when the children found the gun. “We looked at it as a toy. It looked like a toy for real.”

He reportedly described the incident as a serious mistake and expressed relief that no one was hurt. “I’m just glad that things didn’t happen in a matter where things could have gotten out of hand, or somebody could have really gotten hurt,” he added.

Information presented at the hearing showed that the couple’s four children had reportedly been placed in emergency custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

Richland One School District Board Chairman Robert Lominack and Superintendent Todd Walker also addressed the incident during a district work session, though details of their remarks were not included in the report.

Written with the aAssistance of AI.