NORFOLK, Va. – A gun was found in the possession of a 6-year-old student by staff at a school in Norfolk and the child’s mother has been charged, according to reports.
Police responded to Little Creek Elementary School on Friday regarding a student in possession of a weapon, law enforcement authorities said in a press release. No one was injured in the incident after school staff turned over a handgun to officers upon arrival, the New York Post reported.
Letty M. Lopez, 35, the child’s mother, has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing a child to have access to a loaded firearm. She was released on a criminal summons, police said.
Police did not specify the type of weapon or specifically where it was found.
Michelle Washington, a spokeswoman for Norfolk Public Schools, told CNN that officers arrived after the children had left school for the day.
“School administration immediately enacted safety and security protocols including calling Norfolk Police,” Washington said. “School administration also immediately contacted division leadership and the Communications office.”
Meanwhile, an elementary school teacher at Principia Lower School in Town and Country, Missouri found a loaded gun in a five-year-old’s bag on Friday, according to Fox News.
Town & Country Police Chief James Cavins said his department believes the incident was “inadvertent” and that the student did not intend to harm anyone. Nor was there any neglect found on the part of the student’s parents, KMOV reported.
On Feb. 9 in Norristown, Pennsylvania officers responded to a call at Joseph K. Gotwals Elementary School after students reported to school staff that a 6-year-old boy had been flashing a gun and bullets on the bus, NBC10 reported.
Officers reportedly recovered an unloaded handgun and loose ammunition from the child. The boy’s mother, Jasmin Devlin, 30, surrendered to law enforcement authorities and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment, the station reported.
In Rocky Mount, North Carolina last week a 6-year-old was found with an unloaded 9mm handgun in his backpack at Fairview Elementary School, WRAL reported.
Police charged Marvin Ray Davis, 58, with storage of a firearm to protect a minor. Davis is not related to the boy, but lives in the same house as him.
Last month, first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, was shot in the chest at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia by a troubled 6-year-old student who brought a gun to school, Law Officer reported. She was seriously injured but survived the shooting.
The boy’s parents have not been charged in connection to the shooting and have said the gun their child had somehow gained access to had previously been secured.
