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Gun In 8-Year-Old's Backpack Accidentally Discharges On Schoolyard Of West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School: Police
The weapon was recovered and no one was injured.
philadelphia.cbslocal.com
Gun In 8-Year-Old’s Backpack Accidentally Discharges On Schoolyard Of West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School: Police
By Alecia ReidMarch 31, 2022 at 12:39 pm
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A West Philadelphia elementary school went into lockdown Thursday morning after a gun in an 8-year-old’s backpack went off in the schoolyard. The incident happened at West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School, at 6701 Callowhill Street, just before 9 a.m. Thursday.
School officials say a teacher heard a pop, took the student’s backpack, and found the gun inside. Apparently, the weapon accidentally discharged while in the student’s bag in the schoolyard.
.The school serves children in grades K-5.
The school was on lockdown for about 20 minutes. Southwest detectives are handling the investigation from this point. The focus will be on how the boy got his hands on a gun and if it was from home or another student.
Police say they won’t necessarily be charging an 8-year-old for having a gun, but if it belonged to his parents and is legally owned, they could face charges and have their license revoked.
Right now, the school is in the process of notifying parents. CBS3 spoke to Aaron Jackson who rushed over to pick up his niece and nephew because their parents were a bit further away than he was.
“Everybody is not responsible. Everybody doesn’t need to have a gun. Everybody isn’t responsible enough to have one, especially with kids around, and this is what happens,” Jackson said. “These are times we’re living in and it’s sad to where little kids are so easily accessible to guns. We gotta do better.”
It’s important to note, the child involved in this incident has not been arrested, but he was taken in for questioning and the weapon has been recovered.
