Assistant principal replaced after 2 guns found in vehicle on Hilton Head school campus

Six weeks after two guns were found in an assistant principal’s vehicle at Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts, the weapons are still in possession of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Stephen Brock, who had served as assistant principal at the Title I elementary school since the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year, is no longer employed by the school district as of Feb. 28, the day the firearms were found.

Beaufort County Schools spokesperson Candace Bruder would not say whether Brock resigned or was fired, although the district’s policy handbook indicates that the presence of firearms on school property is grounds for termination at the discretion of the superintendent.

An attempt to reach Brock via Facebook Messenger was unsuccessful. His public social media accounts indicate he began teaching in 2010 and received his master’s in general education in 2015. He previously taught at La France Elementary School in Anderson County.

No criminal charges have been filed.

Brock drew the attention of school officials on Feb. 28 after coworkers reported he was slurring his speech, “walking funny” and had fallen asleep in his office while conducting a risk assessment of a student, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report.

Believing Brock might “be under the influence of something,” district personnel contacted one of their safety officers — distinct from a deputy school resource officer — who asked Brock for permission to search his vehicle in the employee parking lot. The assistant principal consented, the report says.

In the center console of Brock’s truck, the officer found two Smith & Wesson handguns: a 357 revolver and a 915 semi-automatic pistol, unloaded and without a magazine. He also discovered five .38 special Aguila rounds, which are compatible with the revolver.

Police said the weapons were properly stored, but they were confiscated at the request of the school district, said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens.

Although Brock’s concealed weapon permit had expired in December, police did not bring charges forward because they believed he had begun the renewal process, said Viens. The S.C. Law Enforcement Division says the process can take up to 90 days.

The SRO, who “did not notice any abnormal behaviors” while speaking with the assistant principal, also noted in the report that Brock had “no ill intent with the weapons.”

Brock told the SRO he was on a new medication prescribed by his doctor, adding that the school district wanted to give him a drug test and “search his truck for alcohol.”

When asked whether Brock was drug tested by the school, Bruder said the district “is unable to comment on an employee’s personal health information.”

A message sent to HHSCA parents by the district the afternoon of Feb. 28 stated, “We are writing to let you know that it was discovered that an employee had two personal weapons in their vehicle in the parking lot. Law enforcement was immediately contacted. Out of an abundance of caution, this individual was removed from our campus.”

Charges could be applied retroactively if police discover Brock had not filed for a renewed CWP, according to Viens. Because the search occurred before South Carolina’s “Constitutional Carry” bill took effect in early March, the facts of the case would be weighed under prior state law, which says possession of a firearm on school property without a CWP is a felony.

Brock reached out to the Sheriff’s Office about reclaiming his firearms in the weeks following the incident, Viens said, but the agency must complete a list of checks and signoffs before the weapons can be released from the evidence locker.

It was not immediately clear whether Brock would keep his South Carolina teaching certification. As of Tuesday, his name had not appeared under the Department of Education’s “Orders of Disciplinary Action,” which become public record when the state suspends or reinstates a teacher’s license.

The Beaufort County School District has since hired a new assistant principal, whose first day on the job was March 7.