Fourth-grade boy brings unloaded gun to Alabama school

A fourth-grade boy was found to have an unloaded handgun in his backpack, at Whitley Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama.

From the article:

The fourth-grader, a male, was allegedly carrying an unloaded handgun in his backpack, said school system spokeswoman Nancy Pierce. Another student saw the gun and told an adult.

The student who brought the gun was suspended from the Prichard school.

This is the 16th time that a student has been caught with a gun in Mobile County’s public schools, and the first time at an elementary school. According to Press-Register archives, some of the other instances were at Denton Middle, Blount High and Baker High.

In most instances, it’s a student who turns another student in.

Pierce said schools encourage students to tell a teacher or administrator if they see a gun.

“Most kids are in school to learn,” Pierce said. “They don’t want that mess in their school.”

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.