Lancaster County deputies have arrested 29-year-old Alexander Savarese after a loaded .380-caliber pistol and a knife were discovered in a 5-year-old’s backpack at Harrisburg Elementary School. Savarese admitted to using the child’s backpack for a hiking trip and forgetting to remove the firearms, leading to a felony charge of Unlawful Conduct toward a Child.

INDIAN LAND, SC — A terrifying oversight has led to a felony arrest and a sobering reminder for firearm owners in Lancaster County. On Wednesday afternoon, March 25, 2026, a kindergarten teacher at Harrisburg Elementary in Indian Land was helping a 5-year-old student pack his bag for dismissal when she spotted a knife inside. School resource officers and administrators quickly intervened, searching the bag to find not only the knife but a loaded .380-caliber pistol.

On Thursday, March 26, 2026, 29-year-old Alexander Savarese voluntarily met with investigators. He explained that he had used the student’s backpack for a hiking trip on March 24 and had placed the firearm and knife inside for protection. According to Savarese, he simply forgot to remove them before the child took the bag to school the following morning.

Accountability for Negligence

While Sheriff Barry Faile noted there was no evidence the child knew the items were present or that Savarese intended for them to reach the school, the legal consequences remain severe. Savarese has been charged with Unlawful Conduct toward a Child, a felony that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence in South Carolina.

“We don’t have any information indicating the child knew the knife and the pistol were in his bookbag,” said Sheriff Barry Faile. “We also don’t have any information that Savarese intended for the child to take them to school. However, it’s important that Savarese be held accountable for his conduct, which created a very real risk to the child and everybody else at Harrisburg Elementary. It’s hard to think about what could have happened had the knife or the pistol gotten into the wrong hands. This incident is a good lesson for grownups who have firearms and the importance of keeping them away from children.”

Investigators confirmed Savarese’s story through photographic evidence of him using the backpack on the hike. However, the law covers any conduct that places a child at an “unreasonable risk of harm,” a threshold the Sheriff’s Office believes was clearly met in this instance.

Safety Tip: As a firearm owner, your “inventory control” is just as important as your marksmanship. This incident highlights why you should never use a child’s bag—or any shared luggage—to transport a firearm. If you carry a firearm for hiking or outdoor activities, utilize a dedicated holster or a purpose-built pack that never leaves your person. More importantly, establish a “clear and secure” ritual every time you return home: immediately clear the firearm and place it in a locked safe. A “forgotten” gun in a backpack is not just a mistake; in the eyes of the law and for the safety of your community, it is a catastrophic failure of responsibility.