Federal charges filed in Ashley Hall gun incident

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 28-year-old woman who authorities say unsuccessfully tried to fire a gun at officials at a private girls’ school in Charleston has been indicted in federal court.

Prosecutors say Alice Boland was charged this week with making a false statement in order to purchase a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm by someone adjudicated as mentally incompetent, possession of a firearm in a school zone and attempted discharge of a firearm in a school zone. She faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

Authorities say Boland brought the gun to Ashley Hall last month, pulling the trigger as school employees approached her. Investigators say the gun didn’t fire because there weren’t any bullets in the chamber.

It wasn’t known if Boland had a lawyer.